The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS) and the HEA agreed that consultation on the Plan should be as extensive as possible. To facilitate this, the HEA published a Consultation Paper and launched a public call for submissions in April 2021. The Consultation Paper aimed to explain the context for the new Plan, raise questions for consideration and encourage input from stakeholders.
The response to the consultation process was high and 122 submissions were received from a wide range of stakeholders. Other consultation events during development included the National Access Forum and a Student Consultation meeting. Over 200 people attended these consultation events. One-to-one consultations with a range of organisations, government departments and agencies were also facilitated and a special meeting of the National Access Plan Steering Group was held.
A report on outcomes from the consultation and a full list of submissions can be found below.*
National Access Plan 2022-2028 Consultation: Outcomes Report
*All contributors were requested to confirm if they did not wish for their submission to be published. Submissions have not been published if contributors requested for them not to be.