Universities and colleges told to improve safety

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Higher education institutions have been told to review their policies for preventing violence against women on campus and ensure they have in place effective report- ing systems and support for victims.

Each institution will also be expected to develop a mental health strategy and to work with NUS Scotland to draw up a student mental health agreement.

The expectations were set out by further and higher education minister Shirleyanne Somerville in a letter to the Scottish Funding Council, which distributes £1.8 billion to universities and colleges.

She said: “As this letter makes clear, widening access to university for people from the most disadvantaged backgrounds remains our key priority and I am clear that progress must continue at pace. It with this in mind that I am putting equality and fairness at the heart of this year’s guidance to the sector.” 0 Shirley-anne Somerville: Student safety must be priority