Essay mills to be banned in England

The government intends to make it a criminal offence to provide, arrange or advertise these “cheating services for financial gain” to students taking a qualification at any institution in England providing post-16 education, including universities.

The measure will be introduced as an amendment to the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill, which is currently before the House of Lords, and follows government-led initiatives to discourage cheating in colleges and universities.

Skills minister Alex Burghart said: “Essay mills are completely unethical and profit by undermining the hard work most students do. We are taking steps to ban these cheating services.

“We have also announced a new measure to make sure all young people receive broader careers guidance so everyone can get the advice that’s right for them.”