MP tables motion in Parliament calling for universities to have statutory duty of care for their students

Cumbrian MP Tim Farron has tabled an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons calling on higher education institutions to have a statutory duty of care for their students.

A parliamentary petition calling for this received over 120,000 signatures and was recently debated by MPs in Parliament

During the debate Tim raised the case of student Oskar Carrick from near Kendal, who died in his halls of residence in Sheffield.

Tim said: “It is my privilege and honour to speak in memory of Oskar Carrick, who died by suicide two years ago. His parents, Maxine and Gary, are with us today.

“They have lost somebody utterly dear to them, they have experienced - are experiencing - appalling grief, and yet their thought is, ‘what can we do to protect other families from the same thing?’ We all owe them a huge debt of thanks for their care for those who come next and for their determination to ensure that practical lessons are learnt.

“Oskar had made an attempt on his life, and despite the fact that both he and his parents had consented for the university to disclose information, that incident was not passed on to Oskar’s mum and dad.”

So far Tim’s motion has received cross-party support from Lib Dem, Labour, Green and DUP MPs.

Speaking today, Tim said: “Every year we are losing students who could have been helped with intervention which is absolutely heartbreaking.

“I’m proud to be tabling this important motion so that higher education institutions such as universities have a legal obligation – on top of a moral one – to ensure their students are cared for.”