Conservative peer Lord Wharton has resigned as chairman of England’s higher education watchdog.
Lord Wharton’s resignation from the independent Office for Students (OfS) has been accepted by the Department for Education (DfE).
The Tory peer’s appointment to the independent regulator in early 2021 sparked criticism from the Labour Party who warned of possible “cronyism”.
Lord Wharton of Yarm, a former Tory MP for Stockton South, had previously managed Boris Johnson’s Conservative party leadership campaign.
A DfE spokesman said: “The Department for Education would like to thank the chair of the Office for Students Lord Wharton for his service as chair of the Office for Students, through a period of change and challenge at the OfS.
“Lord Wharton’s resignation has been accepted. The process to appoint an interim chair is under way, and a permanent replacement will be announced in due course.”
Susan Lapworth, chief executive of the OfS, said: “Lord Wharton joined the OfS in early 2021, as the country and the higher education sector began to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic.
“During his time as chair, the OfS has continued to develop as a regulator. We reset our approach to regulating quality, launched our Equality of Opportunity Risk Register and reported on the financial pressures affecting students and institutions.
“I’m grateful for his support for colleagues across the OfS during this period, and for all his work with our important sector.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel