The current emphasis of both the UK Government and the devolved administrations on widening participation in higher education has brought about a large amount of activity which affects all institutions. Measuring institutional performance in widening participation is not simple, although all funding councils attempt to do it.
Of particular interest for governors is ensuring that:
Governing bodies need to be aware that financial plans must take account of the need to ensure that planned income from widening participation activities may not be obtained if widening participation targets are not met.
In England details of the National Scholarship Programme (NSP) have been published.The HEFCE has published more information on the arrangements.
Further information on the funding and policy implications of widening participation is available from the four UK funding bodies:
A major report on participation in further and higher education in 
Scotland has been published by the SFC, and the HEFCE has published a major study showing trends in participation in HE in England since the 1990s.
HEFCW has published its strategic approach and plan for widening access to higher education in 
Wales
Sir Martin Harris, Director of Fair Access, has reported on What more can be done to widen access to highly selective universities? His recommendations include proposals to improve the availability of information on bursaries; more effective school - university partnerships and the formulation of offers of admission. HEFCE and OFFA have published Access Agreement and Widening Participation Strategic Assessment Monitoring, an analysis of access agreements and outcomes.
The Cabinet Office has published the independent report by Simon Hughes MP on access to higher education, which contains a number of proposals mainly for government and the schools sector.
