Chamber and committees

My first question is for Dr Wright, who spoke earlier about lobbying Westminster for an increase in universal credit rates. I would certainly not disagree with that, but what about the fundamental design flaws in that system such as conditionality—I think that I have said that properly—for employed and unemployed people, the initial long waiting periods of at least five weeks during which people go without money and the length and severity of the sanctions, which, compared with the rest of the world, are incredibly severe?

I am sorry if this question seems like a little jump backwards. In talking about college student associations, Eve Lewis mentioned that students have a diverse range of views on digital access to courses, where courses are and so on. There is clearly not a one-size-fits-all approach across the student population. It seems to me that there is a real need for personalisation and for choices and options for students in order to improve their ability across the board to be able to sustain places. Are student associations advocating for that?

That is really interesting, because my other question is about the management boards and whether students’ views get parity. Are students influencing changes that are improving their experiences and their outcomes? You talked about students being involved in strategic discussions with college leaders and the fact that there needs to be a little bit more support around that for students who are inexperienced. How can we make that happen and get students involved in the design element in order to improve things?

I appreciate those comments. My other question is about diversity. Across student representatives on boards and the college student associations, are there attempts to make sure that there is balance relating to women, minority ethnic groups, people with disabilities and so on?

I will direct the question at Nora Senior. We are talking about student experiences, so I feel that my question will fit in well, here. We have achieved the access target of 16 per cent of students coming from the most deprived areas, but what progress has been made in improving access for people with disabilities, including learning disabilities, and those from black and ethnic minority backgrounds?

Do you have any recommendations on how that could best be taken forward?

That is great. Thank you. We all have an issue with thinking of young people.

What progress has been made in ensuring that students’ voices are listened to? How do students influence the sector’s future priorities? Is the drive towards net zero and the need to prioritise green skills for the future a priority for students and the sector?

I have a question for Gill Bhatti on employability. There are specific barriers in relation to neurodiversity and a lot of anxiety and mental health issues are prevalent in the neurodiverse group, too. Quite often, the job interview process screens out neurodiverse people because of the eye contact and social communication skills that are looked for. How is that being monitored? What is the evidence actually saying? What steps are being taken to address that gap?

Danny Boyle, I heard from a patient who had requested access to her medical records and found that many of the medical professionals she had been in touch with had recorded her under different ethnic backgrounds—rather than asking her directly, they had made a decision themselves. Further, assumptions were also made around her diet, for example, because of her ethnicity, but they were not correct. Is that something that is an issue that you are aware of? Is it quite common? Obviously, it has implications for the data that we have. How much of a role does that issue play?

Apologies. My specific question was about the national health service and the series of different health professionals and consultants recording different information. How much of an issue is that? Is that being looked at?