Strategic Priorities Grant sets out funding for 2024-25

The Office for Students (OfS) has received guidance from the Secretary of State for Education and the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education on the Higher Education Strategic Priorities Grant for the 2024-25 financial year.

The OfS will distribute this funding, which is subject to terms and conditions set by the Department for Education, to eligible universities, colleges and other higher education providers. The funding will be used to support work on high-cost subjects, student mental health, degree apprenticeships, equality of opportunity, technical qualifications, and a range of other priorities. The total budget for the OfS to distribute in the 2024-25 financial year is £1,456 million. As announced in March 2022, there is also a capital budget to fund facilities and buildings of £450 million for the three-year period 2022-23 to 2024-25.

John Blake, Director for Fair Access and Participation at the OfS, said of the grant:

‘Every year, the Strategic Priorities Grant provides significant funding to the universities, colleges and other higher education providers that the OfS regulates. The distribution of this grant allows these institutions to continue providing world-leading teaching and a rewarding student experience, and to further invest in their facilities, especially in high-cost subjects such as medicine, allied health professions and science.

‘This investment will also support important alternative routes into higher education, including degree apprenticeships, higher technical qualifications and other Level 4 and 5 qualifications. These paths provide considerable benefits to local and regional economies, as well as ensuring better access and opportunities for students from underrepresented backgrounds to succeed.

‘We plan to publish details about our approach to recurrent funding allocations for the 2024-25 academic year in summer 2024.’

Sector Response

A DfE spokesperson said:

“We continue to provide significant financial support of nearly £6 billion per year to the higher education sector, plus more than £10 billion per year in tuition fee loans.

“The Strategic Priorities Grant is designed to support universities to deliver high-cost courses and specific projects.

“The funding we’ve allocated over the past two years along with funding for this financial year represents the largest increase in government funding for the higher education sector in over a decade.”