OPEN UNIVERSITY REGIONAL CENTRES

That this House opposes the decision to close the Open University regional centres in Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Gateshead, Leeds, London and Oxford; notes that the closures would threaten the education and guidance available to students; recognises that the closures could result in the loss of hundreds of jobs; calls for this decision to be reversed; and praises the Open University for the benefits it brings to its students, notably the flexibility of their approach to learning, the opening up of access to higher education for people of all ages and backgrounds and the support they provide to all their students.