Earlier this week during debate on the Bill in the House of Lords, ministers accepted two amendments on the powers of the new Office for Fair Access (Offa).

Their effect is to prevent Offa from requiring universities to put anything to do with admissions in the access agreements they will have to get approved if they wish to raise tuition fees.

The head of the fair admissions taskforce, Professor Steven Schwartz, has said he agrees with this - but it is "vital that universities adopt the principles of fair admissions, even if Offa will not force them to do so".

Explicit

The amendments were proposed by Baroness Warwick - who is chief executive of the vice-chancellors' organisation, Universities UK.

Prof Schwartz says universities should strive to be fair

"If the government are clear that Offa is not to interfere in admissions, they need to make it explicit in the Bill," she told peers.

She said scope for conufsion arose in the draft guidance, when it said Offa was "to expect the most, in terms of outreach and financial support, from institutions whose record suggests that they have farthest to go in securing a broadly based intake of students".

"I want to ensure that we exclude admissions standards, requirements, procedures, policies and decisions from the remit of Offa, so I have sought wording that is clear and unequivocal," she said.

Accepting the amendments for the government, Baroness Ashton said it was about "inputs not outputs".

Ministers recognised that outreach work by, say, Cambridge, carried out in the north-east of England, might boost student applications to Newcastle University.

'Unfairness'

The head of the fair admissions taskforce, Professor Steven Schwartz, has now said that, like the government and many of his university colleagues, he believes that academic freedom is best preserved by universities' retaining the right to select their own students.

Diana Warwick: Extracted government assurances

"It is wholly inappropriate for government agencies to interfere in the admissions process," he said.

And he believed universities tried to be fair - but, he said, "unintended unfairness can, and does, occur".

Admissions tutors were often unaware of the value of vocational qualifications, so students with "unorthodox" educational backgrounds did not have the same chance to prove themselves.

"Unreliable or invalid assessment techniques can also produce unfair results, and this is why it is vital that universities consider and adopt the principles of fair admissions, even if Offa will not force them to do so.

"We have a real opportunity to improve the fairness and transparency of admissions and to work with students who have great ability, no matter what their background.

"Let us commit to this so that our academic freedom is maintained, but we move towards a best practice approach that will benefit all."