Number of young people planning to go to university falls to lowest level in eight years

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Trust chairman Sir Peter Lampl said: “It is no surprise that there has been a fall in the proportion of young people hoping to go into higher education. “Cuts to university budgets have also affected widening participation programmes, so there is less money for outreach programmes to help make disadvantaged young people aware of the opportunities in higher education,” she said. “The increase in disadvantaged young people not applying for university is as a result of the Government abolishing maintenance grants for students from low-income homes,” she added, “and allowing universities to put up their fees further if they reach agreed standards in teaching.” Her comments are echoed by the Government’s universities tsar, Professor Les Ebdon, who highlighted that children from more disadvantaged backgrounds need greater support and encouragement in seeking and applying for higher education. “That is better than a decade ago, but since talented intelligent people are found in all parts of our society, the remaining gap in entry rates suggests there is still a way to go to reach true equality of opportunity.” Universities Minister Jo Johnson said: “The reality is that young people are more likely to go to university than ever before, with entry rates for 18-year-olds rising every year since 2012.