Wolverhampton MP raises death of tragic student as he calls for universities to be made legally accountable

Warinder Juss,  MP for Wolverhampton West, called for urgent action giving universities a statutory duty of carery duty of care that would require them to take steps to avoid students coming to harm.

Get the latest headlines delivered straight to your inbox with the Express & Star’s free newsletter

Mr Juss highlighted the tragic case of Natasha Abrahart, a student at Bristol University who took her own life in 2018.

Natasha took her life on the day she was due to give a presentation before her peers and lecturers. She was known to be socially anxious and was being treated for mental health problems including depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts and actions. 

A court found the university had breached the Equality Act 2010 by failing to make reasonable adjustments. 

Speaking in a Westminster Hall debate, Mr Juss said universities had a responsibility for the welfare of their students.

“Campaigners are not asking for strict liability or for universities to take the form of a parent," he said. 

"They are asking for something fair and simple: where a university becomes aware of a foreseeable risk of serious harm to one of their students, it should take reasonable steps to reduce and prevent that risk. That duty of care is applied in workplaces and colleges, and higher education should be no exception.

“I find it shocking that the common law does not impose a duty of care on universities to exercise reasonable care and skill for the wellbeing, health and safety of their students," he told fellow MPs.

"It is for Parliament not only to clarify the law, but to make it stronger and sensible.”

Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing Josh MacAlister MP acknowledged the pain felt by bereaved families and reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to improving student mental health and wellbeing.

He said: “Our duty now is clear: we must turn grief into learning and action. The Government share the determination to do just that. We want safer campuses and better support for every student. Our approach is to act on the evidence and work with the sector to embed best practice and strengthen institutional accountability."

Mr MacAlister highlighted the findings of the recent national review of higher education student suicides and announced the extension of the Higher Education Mental Health Implementation Taskforce, which brings together students, families, and universities to drive improvements in mental health support.

Mr Juss added: “A statutory duty of care for universities would define expectations, embed accountability and promote prevention. It would not burden universities unnecessarily, but would align them with the responsibility already expected in other sectors. Students and their families deserve better, universities need certainty and the courts need clarity.