Chris Millward on the future of fair access and participation: priorities, pressures and place
FACE was pleased to host Professor Chris Millward, Director for Fair Access and Participation at Office for Students, for his first external speaking opportunity since taking up the role.
In an open and wide-ranging discussion with access and participation leaders, Chris set out his immediate priorities for the year ahead and reflected on the pressures and opportunities facing the sector as the post-16 reform agenda gathers pace.
A statutory role, back at Board level
Chris began by explaining the nature of his appointment. The Director for Fair Access and Participation is a statutory role on the OfS Board, and he is returning for an initial 12-month period to bridge the implementation of the government’s post-16 White Paper and any subsequent legislative changes.
Chris reiterated the importance of the OfS embedding equality of opportunity across all of their work, and not treating it as a standalone concern. Governance, financial sustainability, quality and free speech should all, Chris argued, take account of fair access and participation. Based on his early experience, he was clear that access and participation now works more coherently with other areas of OfS regulation than when he last held the role.
Priority one: embedding access and participation across regulation
Chris described his first priority as ensuring equality of opportunity is genuinely influential in OfS Board-level decision-making. With significant change underway inside the OfS and a different political context from four years ago, he expressed confidence that access and participation would continue to be a high and visible priority across regulatory activity.
This matters because access and participation increasingly intersects with other regulatory agendas, particularly quality and financial risk, and Chris was clear that this joined-up thinking needs to be explicit rather than assumed.
Priority two: completing the current round of APP reform
Turning to Access and Participation Plans (APPs), Chris reflected on completing the most recent wave of approvals, including plans from FE colleges and newer providers. He noted how far the sector has come in terms of rigour, evaluation and professionalism, crediting tools such as the Equality of Opportunity Risk Register and the growth of a stronger evaluation culture supported by ongoing OfS funding for TASO.
However, this progress raises a new challenge: collective impact. While individual APPs may be coherent and evidence-based, Chris questioned what they add up to at local and national level. He observed that many plans make limited reference to neighbouring institutions, local collaboration or shared ambition, despite operating in the same places and serving the same learners.
This matters for several reasons: clarity for learners navigating local opportunities, the coherence of pathways (particularly between FE and HE and for lifelong learners), and the overall efficiency of the system. Chris was clear that this is not a criticism of institutions but a structural consequence of legislation, guidance and competition. Nonetheless, the White Paper’s emphasis on place and collaboration means this tension can no longer be ignored.
Priority three: securing commitments in a tough financial climate
Chris was explicit about the importance of continuity and assurance during a period of acute financial pressure. Student financial support featured prominently, with a clear reminder that commitments made to students are not optional. As he put it, funding promised to students through APPs is a matter of consumer law as well as regulation, and the OfS will be looking closely to ensure those commitments are honoured.
Alongside this, Chris highlighted the need to protect progress made with local partners and on evaluation, signalling that the OfS will take a risk-based approach to engagement where there are concerns.
On funding more broadly, he acknowledged uncertainty around Uni Connect and the student premium. While no radical reforms are expected for 2026–27,the intention is to roll Uni Connect funding forward if agreed with DfE, while using the coming year to work through longer-term reform with the Department and the task and finish group.
Priority four: shaping what comes next
Looking ahead, Chris described a complex set of moving parts that will shape access and participation over the next few years.
The White Paper introduces a broader definition of success, emphasising progression into higher-level learning across HE, apprenticeships and technical education. It signals greater focus on place-based collaboration, FE–HE pathways, lifelong learning, and potentially extending fair access considerations into postgraduate study. It also proposes a more risk-based approach to APPs, raising fundamental questions about how plans are designed and assessed.
Alongside this, the OfS is reviewing what can be learned from the latest APP cycle and how access and participation aligns with quality reform and the Teaching Excellence Framework. Chris noted the importance of reducing burden by ensuring these processes are complementary rather than duplicative, and by better aligning regulatory cycles.
Finally, he reflected on wider market and societal shifts: post-COVID impacts, the cost-of-living crisis, young people’s mental health, labour market changes, international recruitment volatility and demographic pressures. These challenges, he argued, are already reshaping participation patterns and institutional behaviour, and require a re-examination of what under-representation looks like across different parts of the sector.
Collaboration, place and the limits of the current model
The discussion with delegates returned repeatedly to the tension between institutional accountability and collective good. Chris acknowledged that APPs are currently designed around institutional data and outcomes, while national policy increasingly emphasises regional skills, collaboration and civic responsibility.
Under the current legislative framework, institutions are incentivised to prioritise their own sustainability. Chris was clear that the expectation of collaboration is going to continue.
He also reflected on the challenges of geography, trust and scale, noting that place-based working will look very different across England and must be pragmatic rather than uniform.
A commitment to dialogue
Chris closed by acknowledging perceptions that the sector has sometimes felt “done to” by regulation. He welcomed the opportunity for continued dialogue with groups like FACE and reaffirmed the OfS’ commitment to working collaboratively, particularly in an area as complex and system-wide as access and participation.
As one delegate observed during the session, many of the barriers facing learners sit well beyond the reach of individual institutions. Chris’s message was clear: the next phase of access and participation will require collective ambition, shared responsibility and a willingness to rethink how success is defined and delivered.