Mr Speaker Before I call the Secretary of State for Education to
make a statement, I note that reports about the possible increase
in higher education tuition fees started appearing in the media
earlier this afternoon. Mr Richard Holden (Basildon and Billericay)
(Con) What a surprise—very leaky. Mr Speaker Mr Holden, you don't
help yourself, do you? The Secretary of State is here to make a
statement, so hon. Members will have the opportunity to...Request free trial
Mr Speaker
Before I call the Secretary of State for Education to make a
statement, I note that reports about the possible increase in
higher education tuition fees started appearing in the media
earlier this afternoon.
Mr (Basildon and Billericay)
(Con)
What a surprise—very leaky.
Mr Speaker
Mr Holden, you don't help yourself, do you?
The Secretary of State is here to make a statement, so hon.
Members will have the opportunity to question her. If the
premature media reporting is due to an unauthorised leak, that is
a great discourtesy to this House. I hope the Secretary of State
will be able to identify the guilty party, take appropriate
actions and brief me accordingly. I hope the Secretary of State
will announce a leak inquiry, we will get all the details of how
this information could have got out and the House will be
informed as that goes forward.
The Secretary of State for Education ()
Mr Speaker, may I begin by expressing my deep regret that the
content of the statement that I am about to make appeared in the
media earlier this afternoon? It had always been my intention to
come before this House to make the statement first, given its
significance and importance. I appreciate that you, Members
across the House, and our conventions, rightly demand and expect
that. I hope that you can accept my deep frustration and regret
at what has taken place. I will take whatever steps I can to keep
you updated on the matter, because I do respect the conventions
of and my responsibilities to this House.
Mr Speaker
Can we take it that there will be a full inquiry into how this
has happened—that everybody will be brought in and questioned,
and you will then update us on that full inquiry? That is what I
really want.
I can give you that undertaking, Mr Speaker, and I will speak to
officials about the matter, as you request.
Mr Speaker
Thank you.
4.43pm
The Secretary of State for Education ()
With permission, I would like to make a statement about the
future of our higher education sector and the changes that we
will be making for students in the upcoming academic year,
2025-26.
Before I go further, I want to make clear the approach that this
Labour Government take to our universities and, above all, to the
students whose education is their central purpose, because the
Conservative Government did not just talk down universities; they
talked down the aspirations of working-class families across our
country, and they dismissed the ambition of our young people and
undermined their opportunities. This Government take a different
approach. We are determined to break down the barriers to
opportunity, and higher education is central to that mission.
Higher education is part of what makes our country great. It
enriches our culture, powers our economy and sustains
intellectual traditions stretching back centuries. It is a beacon
of opportunity—to students not just from this country, but from
across the world—and a sector of which everyone in this House
ought to be proud. But when this Government took office in July,
we found a university sector facing severe financial challenges.
With tuition fees frozen for the last seven years, universities
have suffered a significant real-terms decline in their income.
We also found a regulator subject to political whim, unable to
focus on the challenges our universities face. A succession of
Conservative Ministers faced with tough decisions had, for year
after year, ducked them time and again.
We inherited in our universities, as across so much of our public
sector, the consequences of long years of shameful abdication of
responsibility: long years in which I heard too often from
students of the gap between the course they were promised and the
experience they had, about the trouble they had making ends meet
as they worked hard not merely at their studies but often at two
or more jobs on top; long years in which I saw the amazing
research our universities deliver but how infrequently those
triumphs drove wider success; and long years in which I heard
from international students, who make such an important
contribution to our country, that the previous Government had
made them feel neither valued nor welcomed. That is the mess that
Opposition Members left behind, but where the Conservatives
shirked the hard choices, this Government have not hesitated to
grip the challenges we face and take the tough decisions to
restore stability to higher education, to fix the foundations and
to deliver change.
We have accepted in full the recommendations of the independent
review of the Office for Students. We have also brought new
leadership to the office and refocused its work to monitor
universities' finances and to hold leadership to account. I thank
Sir for his work both leading the
independent review and now as its interim chair. We have paused
the commencement of the last Government's freedom of speech
legislation while we consider the impacts on universities,
students and the regulator, because although universities must be
home to robust discussion and rigorous challenge, regulation must
also be workable.
I am here today to make two sets of announcements on higher
education reform, addressing the challenges our students and
universities face, and gripping these issues as a responsible
Government. First, we will fix the foundations. We will secure
the future of higher education so that students can benefit from
a world-class education for generations to come. That is why I am
announcing that, in line with the forecasts set out in the Budget
last week, from April 2025 we will be increasing the maximum cap
for tuition fees in line with inflation to £9,535—an increase of
£285 per academic year.
I understand that some students may worry about the impact that
the increase will have on their loan debt, so I want to reassure
students already at university that when they start repaying
their loan, they will not see higher monthly repayments as a
result of these changes to fee and maintenance loans. That is
because student loans are not like consumer loans; monthly
repayments depend on earnings, not simply the amount borrowed or
interest rates, and at the end of any loan term, any outstanding
loan balance, including interest built up, will be written
off.
Increasing the fee cap has not been an easy decision, but I want
to be crystal clear that this will not cost graduates more each
month as they start to repay their loans. Universities are
responsible for managing their own finances and must act to
remain sustainable, but Members across the House will agree that
it is no use keeping tuition fees down for future students if the
universities are not there for them to attend, nor if students
cannot afford to support themselves while they study. I therefore
confirm that we will boost support for students with living costs
by increasing maximum maintenance loans in line with inflation,
giving them an additional £414 a year in '25-26. I also confirm
that from the start of the '25-26 academic year a lower fee limit
of £5,760 will be introduced for foundation years in
classroom-based subjects such as business, social science and
humanities. The Government recognise the importance of foundation
years for promoting access to higher education, but they can be
delivered more efficiently in classroom-based subjects, at a
lower cost to students.
The change that the Government are bringing about must go
further, so my second set of announcements signals the start of
deeper change for our students, our universities and our country.
Today, I will set out the scale of our ambition to build a higher
education system fit for the challenges not just of today but of
tomorrow. In the months ahead, we will publish our proposals,
because in universities, as across our public services,
investment can come only with the promise of major reform. The
contribution of higher education to our economy, our communities
and our country must grow and strengthen. That begins with
universities doing more to spread opportunity to disadvantaged
students, in both expanding access and improving outcomes. Our
most recent data shows why. The gap between disadvantaged
students and their peers in progression to university by age 19
is the highest on record. I will not tolerate that shameful
divide any longer. Universities can and must do more, and they
must rise to the huge challenge of technological change,
supporting adults with the flexibility that they need to retrain.
That is why we confirmed in the Budget that we are pressing ahead
with the lifelong learning entitlement.
While the UK is home to many world-class universities, it is time
that all students in higher education in this country feel the
benefit. It is time to raise the bar further on teaching
standards, to improve our world-leading reputation and drive out
poor practice, and it is time to ensure that all students get
good value for money, which, if we are honest, has not always
been the case in the past. Furthermore, universities must do more
to raise their impact beyond their gates. They must do more to
drive the growth that this country sorely needs by attracting
talent from around the world, joining with Skills England,
employers and partners in further education to deliver the skills
that people and businesses need, and shaping world-class research
to create good jobs across the country. Members across the House
will know how important universities can be for the areas that
surround them—not just local economies but local communities. I
want universities to work harder to embed themselves in those
local communities, as civic anchors—the beating heart of local
life in our towns and cities—not ivory towers far from local
concerns.
Lying beneath those challenges must be a further transformation:
a renewed drive for efficiency. Students and taxpayers support
the costs of our universities. They are right to expect that
every penny is spent effectively. We will not accept wasteful
spending. Universities must rise to the challenge, which means
ensuring that the pay of their top teams is fair and justifiable.
I am determined that our world-class higher education sector does
not merely survive in the years ahead but thrives, supporting
students in every corner of our country and at every stage of
their lives. I am determined that our universities become all
that I know they can be. The scale of our ambition demands a new
approach, rooted in partnership, so I look forward to partnering
with the sector, the Office for Students and UK Research and
Innovation. I will work closely with Ministers across Government,
in particular the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and
Technology, to deliver a reformed and strengthened higher
education system for our country.
As today the Government look to the future, I am reminded that
more than 60 years have passed since the Robbins report on higher
education was presented to this House, with its famous
principle
“that courses of higher education should be available for all
those who are qualified by ability and attainment to pursue them
and who wish to do so.”
That principle drove the expansion of higher education over the
decades that followed, under successive Governments of both
parties. It is central to the thinking of this Government today.
That is why responsible Governments must treat universities not
as a political battleground but as a public good. It is why
Government Members want to see the continued success of our young
people, and it is why we are determined to ensure the
sustainability and success of our higher education sector, not
just in the years ahead but for decades to come. I commend this
statement to the House.
Madam Deputy Speaker ()
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
4.54pm
(Sevenoaks) (Con)
I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of her
statement.
The Budget last week declared war on business and private sector
workers, and on farmers, as we have just heard. It seems that
today the Secretary of State wants to add students to that list.
Not content with pushing up the cost of living for everyone with
an inflationary Budget, and pushing down wages with a national
insurance increase, we are now in a situation whereby students
will suffer from the first inflationary increase in a number of
years, at a time when they can least afford it.
Yet again, there was no sign of that in the Labour manifesto.
Indeed, in only 2020, the Prime Minister made scrapping
university tuition fees a centrepiece of his leadership
campaign—perhaps we should start putting sell-by dates on his
statements. But it is not just the Prime Minister: in July this
year, at the time of the King's Speech, the Secretary of State
said that she had “no plans” to increase tuition fees, and
yesterday the Chancellor said that there was
“no need to increase taxes further.”
Yet what is happening today apart from a hike in the effective
tax that graduates have to pay? Students have not had a chance to
prepare for that rise. They will have fairly expected, based on
all the statements that I have mentioned, that the last thing a
Labour Government would do in office is put up tuition fees.
We have some of the best universities in the world here in the
UK, but we need to do much more to reform the system and make it
better and fairer for students and universities by ensuring that
courses provide students with an economic return, helping
universities to harness the growth potential of the innovations
that they foster, and ensuring that students and lecturers are
free to express and debate their views. We are willing to work
with the Government on all those things. It is also right that we
consider university funding, but pushing up costs for students at
short notice in an unreformed system will lead to students up and
down the country feeling betrayed.
How much of the increase will be absorbed by the national
insurance increase for employees at universities? Does the
Secretary of State intend to increase fees every year, or should
students expect this to be the only increase? What is the impact
of the change on public finances, and has the Office for Budget
Responsibility been consulted? Why was the change not announced
in the Budget? How much longer will it take the average borrower
to repay their tuition fees as a result of the change? And why
was Labour not up front about the measure in its manifesto?
In June 2023, the title of an article written by the now
Secretary of State proclaimed:
“Graduates, you will pay less under a Labour government”.
Well, it turns out they will pay more—more broken promises.
Amid the faux outrage that we just heard from the shadow
Education Secretary, I did not hear whether she will support the
measure. She, like her party for many months during the election
campaign, had nothing to say other than doing down the ambition
and aspiration of young people and their families who want the
opportunity to go on to university. The Conservatives went into
the last election determined to ensure that fewer young people
had the chance to go to university. That is shameful, and it is
something that Labour will never back. Young people with talent
and ambition, and their families, want a Government who recognise
it.
It is little wonder that, at the ballot box on 4 July, the right
hon. Lady's party got a clear message. It is just a shame that in
the time since, there has been no reflection on why that was. The
Conservatives have learned nothing from their years of failure.
They ducked the tough decisions for years. I make it absolutely
clear to the House that I do not take any pleasure in this
decision—it is not one that I want to take—but I am determined to
secure the long-term financial sustainability of our
world-leading universities. She is right to recognise their
success. They are beacons around the world, and that necessitates
tough decisions—decisions that she and her colleagues in the
Treasury ducked year after year. They put a Conservative peer in
to chair what should have been an independent regulator. They
picked fights with the sector time and again, and over the course
of 10 years, the Conservative party never had a serious plan to
reform the higher education sector. I am determined to bring that
reform, and in the months to come we will set out further plans
to reform efficiency, access and participation for our young
people.
To answer the precise questions that the right hon. Lady asked,
as we lay legislation before the House, we will publish an impact
assessment alongside it.
Madam Deputy Speaker ()
I call the Chair of the Education Committee.
(Dulwich and West Norwood)
(Lab)
First, let me put it on the record that I am the parent of a
young person in her first year at university.
The Secretary of State has set out very clearly the case for our
universities and the justification for her announcement today.
However, as young people who might be applying for university as
the announcement is being made might see only the headlines, what
steps is she taking to ensure that it is communicated
effectively, so that it does not deter young people from low and
middle-income backgrounds from applying to university in the
first place?
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her question, and I look
forward to speaking with her and her newly constituted Select
Committee about this issue and many others.
I recognise the importance of communicating the message that
university should be for all young people who have demonstrated
that they have the qualifications and talent required. This was
not an easy decision, but as Secretary of State, I need to ensure
that we secure the long-term financial sustainability of the
sector. Alongside that, I am absolutely clear with the
sector—with vice-chancellors and others—that it must do more to
provide better support and to widen access and participation so
that more young people, especially those from more disadvantaged
backgrounds, have the opportunity to benefit from higher
education.
Madam Deputy Speaker
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
(St Neots and Mid
Cambridgeshire) (LD)
I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of her
statement.
It is clear that the current university funding system is broken.
Not only is it pushing many universities into a financial crisis,
but the changes made by the previous Conservative Government have
left us with a system that is deeply unfair in how it treats
students. It simply cannot be right to raise fees without taking
steps to substantially reform the system to make it fairer.
By abolishing maintenance grants for disadvantaged students in
2016, the Conservatives put up a barrier between disadvantaged
students and higher education. The Liberal Democrats opposed that
abolition at the time, and we have consistently campaigned to
restore those grants ever since. The previous Government also cut
the repayment threshold to £25,000, so today's students have to
repay hundreds of pounds more per year than older graduates on
the same salary. Perhaps worst of all, they lengthened the
repayment period from 30 years to 40 years for those starting
courses from August 2023 onwards, so today's students will still
be paying back their loans in 2066.
Does the Secretary of State accept that the first priority must
be to fully reform the system, fixing the damage that those
changes made and creating a system that is fair for all students?
That, rather than simply putting up fees without those much wider
reforms, has to be the best way forward. The crisis in funding
for universities must be addressed, but have the Government
considered how to support universities without raising fees? Does
the Secretary of State agree that an important first step would
be to recognise the benefits of international students and give
universities stability in that area of policy? Does she also
agree that any reform must examine how universities currently
spend their allocation of £10,000 per student per year, so that
that money is spent as efficiently as possible?
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his questions. I gently observe
that although it might have been slightly before his time in this
House, his party has got a bit of form on this topic, but I will
address his questions in the spirit in which he asked them. I
appreciate the constructive approach that he has taken.
As part of the reform that we want to deliver for our young
people and our sector, the hon. Gentleman's questions about
making sure that young people are supported to succeed are
important ones. Since becoming Secretary of State, I have also
been very clear that our international students play a crucial
role, not just in our communities and our country but in the
contribution they make to our local economies—I see that myself
as a constituency MP. As we take forward our programme of reform,
working with the sector and others, I will of course be happy to
discuss that further with the hon. Gentleman.
(York Central)
(Lab/Co-op)
The last Government nearly bankrupted a number of universities.
Indeed, one of the two excellent universities in my constituency
had to go through a significant redundancy programme to stay
afloat. However, I recognise the challenges that students in my
constituency are facing, not least because of the high cost of
living. As part of my right hon. Friend's reforms, will she also
look at the cost of housing students, so that they can pay their
way when they are studying?
My hon. Friend makes an important point, and we will absolutely
take that into consideration. It is important that we look at
student accommodation, which is a big challenge in many
university towns, including in her constituency. I believe the
sector should be doing more to address issues around student
accommodation, working with local councils. We will be setting
clear expectations of how that should work in future.
Sir (New Forest East) (Con)
The Secretary of State mentioned having paused the Higher
Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023. Does she accept that,
given that the Act got Royal Assent in May 2023, it remains the
law of the land until repealed by this Parliament? How long does
she expect that pause to continue?
I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman. He is correct in the
question he asks; what I would say about the commencement of the
provisions and the wider, long-term future of the Act is this. I
believe it is important that our universities are places of
robust challenge and disagreement, and that students should be
exposed to a range of views, some of which they may not agree
with. However, alongside that, it is important that regulation is
workable. That is why we are taking our time to make sure that we
get this right, listening to a range of voices across the sector
who hold differing views. That work is under way. We will make
sure that we act having listened to those views, and that will be
at the heart of further steps we take in this area.
(Southampton Itchen)
(Lab)
I would not be standing here today were it not for the incredible
opportunities of a university education. I was the first in my
family to attend and I spent the next 20 years as a higher
education lecturer, watching culture wars break out and the
financial system become increasingly broken. Does the Secretary
of State agree that we now have an opportunity to restore
universities as machines of opportunity and economic growth?
I agree with my hon. Friend, who recognises, both in his
professional life before coming to this House and as a
constituency MP, the crucial role that our universities play in
towns and cities, as well as by providing opportunities for lots
of young people. Alongside that, one area where we need to make
more progress—and in which I know that my hon. Friend has a real
interest—is care-experienced young people and their opportunities
at university. There is a lot more that the sector must do to
support young people coming through the care system who want the
chance to go on to university, to ensure that the additional
barriers they face are overcome, and I would expect it to be
doing more.
(Edinburgh West) (LD)
Does the Secretary of State accept that it might have been better
to hold a wider review of the whole system—it is broken; we know
that—instead of jumping immediately to putting up tuition fees?
She says that we all respect and want to protect our
world-beating universities, but how does she square that with her
Government removing the funding for the exascale computer at
Edinburgh University, which would have maintained not only its
position, but our whole university sector's position?
What I am announcing today is very much in line with the approach
that we took at this Budget—a one-year settlement that allows us
to fix the foundations, given the need to bring financial
sustainability to the sector, because we recognise the acute
financial pressures that many universities are facing after years
of falling income from fees. That was not an easy decision, but
it cannot be the entirety of what we do. I am determined to
reform the sector. I will happily work with the hon. Member's
party to look at ideas for how we do that, but she will know as
well as I do that the record on progression to university for
young people from more disadvantaged backgrounds in Scotland is
not a strong one.
(Warwick and Leamington)
(Lab)
I commend my right hon. Friend for making such a bold and
difficult decision here when so many of her predecessors shied
away from it. Putting the sector on a sound financial footing is
crucial, but I also welcome the move on maintenance support. Can
she assure me that, when she talks about increasing efficiency in
the sector, she is talking not about vice-chancellors balancing
staff and workload, but about addressing the overspend in some
capital projects that might be viewed as particularly wasteful,
so that good money does not follow bad?
My hon. Friend has long championed our fantastic universities. He
is right to draw attention to the need for further efficiencies,
but he is also right to identify that efficiencies do not mean
making staff do more with less, or indeed with fewer staff. They
do mean reeling in needless or excessive spend and waste, and he
is right to highlight that.
Mr (Basildon and Billericay)
(Con)
Ten million pensioners, almost 30 million workers who the
Institute for Fiscal Studies says will now see lower wages
because of national insurance rises, tens of thousands of
farmers, hundreds of thousands of small businesses seeing
business rates rising, and today millions of students. Is there
anyone that this Government told before the general election
“Don't worry!” who they have not since shafted?
I remain slightly bewildered by the right hon. Gentleman's
approach. He has clearly learned nothing from the election
campaign we have just been through and clearly was not listening
when he heard time and again about the £22 billion black hole his
party left behind and the difficult decisions it ducked year
after year. That is the Conservatives' record, and he should
reflect on it.
(Erewash) (Lab)
Through a 10-year career in the higher education sector and now
as chair of the all-party parliamentary university group, two
things have become abundantly clear to me: first, the
Conservative party left the sector in utterly dire straits when
it left office, and secondly, today's measures are absolutely
necessary for our universities to avoid bankruptcy. What steps is
the Secretary of State taking with universities, students and
campus unions to develop a new financial model—one that delivers
excellence and value for students, and stability and security for
university staff and management?
My hon. Friend brings real expertise on these matters to the
House. While the Government ensure that we play our part in
securing financial sustainability, I have been clear with the
sector that it too must do more. That involves playing an
expanded role in driving economic growth, including in towns and
cities across the country. The sector ought to be considering how
it can do more, including working with further education
providers to look at different ways of delivering provision,
especially for adult learners, who often need a different
approach in order to upskill, retrain and take on new
opportunities. I have seen some great examples of that and some
fantastic practice around the country, but there is more that the
sector should be doing.
(Honiton and Sidmouth)
(LD)
I welcome the Secretary of State's announcement on increased
maintenance loans and what that will do for equality of
opportunity. I agree with her that the last Government did not
properly value the contribution of international students. For
more than 15 years, the much higher fees charged to international
students have cross-subsidised British students, to say nothing
of what international students do for British soft power. Will
the Government remove international students from the net
migration figures, so that that cross-subsidy can continue?
I agree with the hon. Gentleman on the important contribution
that international students make to our country and the reach
they give us around the world through soft power, influence and
the business and trading links that they grow and develop, but I
am afraid I cannot give him the answer he seeks on his wider
question.
(Stoke-on-Trent Central)
(Lab/Co-op)
Keele University and the University of Staffordshire, two of the
wonderful universities around my constituency, have been warning
for a long time of the dire financial circumstances they face. We
often forget that they are also major employers in my
constituency, so I welcome the announcement of this financial
support—if nothing else, to protect jobs in those institutions
that currently face a desperate budget round. I share the
Secretary of State's ambition to widen participation; in my
patch, Uni Connect's Higher Horizons scheme is doing a lot of
work to help disadvantaged students to access higher education.
What is her Department doing to ensure that that funding is in
place, so that more young people from places such as
Stoke-on-Trent can have a higher education experience?
My hon. Friend is right to raise those issues and to highlight
the important contribution that universities make to employment
opportunities, and not just for academics and others engaged in
research and teaching, but for a wide range of jobs right across
the board. From security staff to hospitality staff and library
staff, there are many jobs across higher education that play a
crucial role. The Department is looking at how we can work with
the sector to deliver an expansion in the civic role of our
universities. It is important that they do more when it comes to
economic growth, but also to widen participation, because it is
shameful that too few young people from disadvantaged backgrounds
have the opportunity to go to university.
(Islington North) (Ind)
I welcome the Secretary of State's announcement that
“universities must be home to robust discussion and rigorous
challenge”.
That is very welcome, but she must be aware that many students
are put off going to university by the already very high fees.
There were no proposals in her statement to reform university
finance; there was only a proposal to charge students more. Will
that not drive more people away from university education rather
than to it? Universities should not be dependent just on student
income to survive. Should we not be moving in the direction of
lowering fees, or indeed removing them altogether, in order to
make higher and further education genuinely open to all in our
society?
I agree that there is more that universities can do to ensure
that they have a wide source of income. That includes greater
work around economic growth, around spin-offs and much more
besides—I will be working with my right hon. Friend the Secretary
of State for Science, Innovation and Technology on precisely
those questions. The reality is that it is necessary to bring
forward this increase next year to stabilise the sector. It is a
difficult decision but a necessary one, because it is no good
encouraging young people to go to university if their
institutions continue to be in financial peril.
(Clapham and Brixton
Hill) (Lab)
I thank the Secretary of State for her statement. I fully
understand that something needs to be done. Tuition fees were
introduced just before I went to university. It never sat well
with me that Members of this House went to university free of
charge, or with a grant too, and then seemingly pulled the
drawbridge up behind them. I am pleased that the Secretary of
State mentioned disadvantaged students and her plans to conduct
an equality impact assessment, but we know that university
applications have been slowly declining. Has she any plans to
review her actions if the equality impact assessment shows that
there are issues for disadvantaged students?
We will be setting out further plans in the coming months around
the wider reform that we intend to bring to the sector. I
recognise my hon. Friend's genuine concern about making sure that
talented young people who want to expand their minds and benefit
from university have the chance to do so. There is much more that
the sector can and must do to improve outcomes for disadvantaged
students, including around progression. Sadly, it is not just
that fewer disadvantaged young people are thinking about
university, but that the progression rates in terms of completion
are just not good enough. More needs to happen on that front,
too.
(North Devon) (LD)
Universities work in collaboration with FE sector institutions
such as Petroc college in my constituency. Government funding for
the FE sector has fallen significantly in real terms over the
past decade, leading to falling teacher pay. What are the plans
to fund the FE sector so that it can remain a viable and
accessible option, particularly in rural areas such as mine, for
people to access university courses?
The hon. Gentleman raises important points not just about the
state of our further education sector, but about the important
collaboration between further education and higher education
providers, including in communities where travelling times might
be longer, and about ensuring that access to education is
available to a much wider range of people. I have seen some
really great work going on across the country, but there is more
that the Government can encourage higher institutions to do.
The Government inherited a real mess in further education, a
sector that had been ignored for so many years. We are determined
to put that right. That is why in this Budget we invested £300
million into further education, alongside a £300 million capital
allocation, for the first time in a number of years: to ensure
that we are investing in our further education colleges, which
are crucial parts of our towns and cities.
(Welwyn Hatfield) (Lab)
We have thousands of international students at the University of
Hertfordshire in Hatfield—they are most welcome and they make a
great contribution. However, when the Conservative party was in
power, the independent Office for Students concluded that the
entire higher education model was reliant on international fee
income. Does my right hon. Friend agree that that was a
completely unsustainable model—another example of the
Conservative party ignoring a problem and leaving it to us to
rescue and reform our higher education sector?
International students play an important role in our communities
and make an important contribution to our economy, but my hon.
Friend is right to draw attention to the fact that there can
sometimes be pressures. I know that can be especially acute where
expansion happens and the right levels of accommodation do not
follow. We will be setting clear expectations of the sector that
it has to work with local councils to ensure the availability of
high-quality accommodation. Alongside that, as a Government we
are legislating to make sure there are higher standards in the
private rented sector through the Renters (Reform) Bill, because
too many students are expected to live in substandard private
rented accommodation.
(Mid Dorset and North Poole)
(LD)
I put on record that I am the parent of three students—two
undergrads and one postgrad—who are all paying their fees. Does
the Secretary of State agree that courses offering just eight
hours a week of contact time do not represent good value for
money? Will she ensure that that element is fully evaluated in
the reforms that are coming? Will she advise the sector that if
students are getting only eight hours of contact time, which is
effectively a part-time course, they do not need to charge the
full fees?
We are working closely with the Office for Students on the areas
that the hon. Lady identifies. She is right that we need to do
more on quality, particularly teaching quality, and we will be
discussing that further in the months to come. I would be more
than happy to discuss that issue with her and her party.
(Telford) (Lab)
Universities are critical for students, of course, but also for
economic growth, town and city regeneration, and much more.
Reform and accountability are also important. Will the Secretary
of State outline in a bit more detail the accountability to which
she will hold these university vice-chancellors on teaching
contact time, helping vulnerable students and ensuring that
universities play a huge part in the wider communities of the
towns and cities in which they are anchor institutions?
One of the first actions I took as Secretary of State was to
refocus the work of the Office for Students on precisely those
areas that my hon. Friend identifies, because it is important
that we ensure that the student experience at university is
strong and that students have the opportunity to take part in a
wider range of activities. I am also acutely aware of the
financial pressures that many students are experiencing, and that
is why we have taken the decision to increase maintenance loans
at the rate of inflation. I have set out five priorities today
for reform of the higher education sector. We will expect higher
education providers to play a stronger role in expanding access
and improving outcomes, especially for disadvantaged students.
Such institutions should make a stronger contribution to their
communities and to economic growth.
Mr (Maidenhead) (LD)
It was not that many years ago that I was at
university—[Laughter.] Who would have thought it? Just before the
Secretary of State took to her feet, I checked my student loan
balance, and it is just over £60,000. For many students at
university, the elimination of maintenance grants was
devastating, and the reintroduction of maintenance grants will
mean that living costs are not barriers to university for those
disadvantaged students. Will the Secretary of State confirm the
reintroduction of maintenance grants, so that no young people are
put off university for fear of the costs?
I can tell the hon. Gentleman that we will look at this issue as
part of wider reform, but he will appreciate that after 14 years
of Conservative failure when it comes to our universities, there
are no easy options. This is a difficult decision and a difficult
choice, but I can give him the assurance that I want to ensure
that university remains an attractive option for all young people
who want the chance to learn, to expand their minds and to take
all the opportunities that come from a university education.
(Middlesbrough South and East
Cleveland) (Lab)
I welcome my right hon. Friend's leadership not just on the
funding, but on the reform that the sector needs. The previous
Government's approach to regulation put ideology over evidence,
and one example of that is in the role of the designated quality
body. It was there to check on quality and standards in higher
education, but it had to give up that role because the regulatory
climate that the previous Government brought in was non-compliant
with international standards. Can the Secretary of State assure
the House that the regulatory approach that she will take will be
different from that of the previous Government and ensure that
our higher education sector continues to be world-leading?
My hon. Friend brings real experience on these matters to the
House. He will know it is important that the independent
regulator retains the autonomy to act, but we will work with it
closely on quality, student outcomes and much more besides. As he
will know, under the last Conservative Government, that regulator
was increasingly fixated on political matters and political whim,
and did not have enough focus on teaching quality and students'
outcomes. Under its new interim chair, Sir , it has changed that approach
and is focusing on ensuring not only that our universities are
sustainable, but that they deliver better outcomes for
students.
(Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Secretary of State for her statement. With fees to
increase, how can we expect students to stay and work within the
United Kingdom when the fields are much greener on other shores
and it is much cheaper to live there as well? May I make a plea
about the retention of student and junior doctors? I have
repeatedly asked for bursaries or forgiveness of debt against a
job commitment of perhaps three or four years. Will she consider
that? If enacted, that would mean more students and junior
doctors staying, which has to be good.
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. For many young people, the
chance to go to university is a long-term investment in their
future prospects, which offers not just the chance to study and
to learn, but the chance to take on a new career in the way he
described, particularly in our health service. Of course, this
matter overlaps with the Department of Health and Social Care,
and he can be assured that we keep these matters under
review.
Dr (Edinburgh South West)
(Lab)
I draw Members' attention to my entry in the Register of Members'
Financial Interests. Any country that is serious about growing
its economy should also be serious about supporting its
university sector. In that context, I welcome the promise that a
review will be published soon. I hope that it will take lessons
from Scotland, where while undergraduate education is free,
universities are grossly underfunded to deliver it. The
announcement will only widen the gap between Scotland and England
in that regard.
I also welcome the confirmation that we need our universities to
be able to attract talent from around the world. Both the Higher
Education Policy Institute and my union, the University and
College Union, have said that the previous Government put blocks
in place to that happening. Will the Secretary of State engage
with the sector to ensure that we have the right environment to
attract the best students and the best staff to UK universities
and that the very best international graduates can work here at
the point of graduation?
I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who raised a number of important
points. In addition to those he made about the record in
Scotland, he will know better than most of us the shameful record
of the SNP Government when it comes to opportunities for
university study for our more disadvantaged students. The share
of first-time university entrants from Scotland's most deprived
areas fell for the second consecutive year. He will also know
that the SNP Government in Scotland also cut mental health
provision for Scottish students.
(Shipley) (Lab)
I would like to put on the record that my husband works for a
university. I welcome the announcement that the Government plan
to reform and strengthen higher education. I went from a northern
comprehensive school to university, and I agree it is vital that
we expand access so that students from all backgrounds can go to
university. I recently met the vice-chancellor of Bradford
University, which has a high proportion of students drawn from
the city, but many students fail to progress due to the lack of
high-quality graduate jobs. I invite the Secretary of State to
come to Bradford, perhaps meet other Bradford MPs and see the
civic contribution that the university makes. Hopefully we will
see more of that from other universities in the future.
I would be delighted to visit and meet my hon. Friend and other
colleagues in neighbouring constituencies to discuss the approach
that has been taken there. She made the wider point that our
higher education sector is diverse and includes a range of
providers who offer different kinds of opportunities, training
and study for different sets of students. Of course, young people
are often the focus of our attention in these discussions, but
the chance to go to university later on in life is also crucial,
with the opportunity to retrain, to upskill and to make a change
of career. Many of our newer universities have driven so much of
the excellent work that I have seen in expanding opportunities
for adults to go back into education.
(Bracknell) (Lab)
Before I was elected to this place I was a university lecturer
and researcher. I worked hard to expand access to education for
all. I agree with the Secretary of State that universities need
to do more to ensure that, no matter people's background, they
have the opportunity to access a university education and the
social mobility that comes with that. Does she agree that such
opportunities are a fantastic route for social mobility, whether
students choose to study a science degree, a social sciences
degree, or one of the fantastic arts and humanities degrees?
I agree. My hon. Friend will recognise that over many years we
heard the Conservatives doing down young people's ambitions to go
on and study. Like me, he will have heard dismissive talk, which
I will not repeat, about types of degrees and the kind of study
that our young people were engaged in. It is essential for a
modern economy that people have the chance to study science and
technology and much more aside, but also subjects like art and
music, not just because they are good in and of themselves but
because, increasingly, they are a key part of driving economic
growth in our country.
(Norwich North)
(Lab/Co-op)
The dire state of the finances of higher education institutions
such as the University of East Anglia is likely to be improved by
this announcement, but can the Secretary of State assure staff
and students that mechanisms are in place to ensure that
increased income from fees translates into fewer job losses and
helps encourage more students from lower-income backgrounds into
university?
That is my expectation. Excessive and wasteful spend in
universities needs to be reined in. There must be a much greater
push for efficiency. As a Government, we have made the difficult
decision to increase fees to provide sustainability for the
sector. Now, the sector must play its part.
(Truro and Falmouth)
(Lab/Co-op)
I have Falmouth University in my constituency, which is a
world-leading arts university. Unlike the Conservatives, this
Government have committed to restore the arts as a large part of
the economy in this country. Could the Secretary of State confirm
that arts degrees will be an important part of the economy in
future, and will be supported by this Government?
Going to university is often a long-term investment in someone's
earning potential and career opportunities, but the chance to
study is also good in and of itself. That means that we must
value and respect a wide range of courses and opportunities,
including subjects like music, art and much more besides,
although many well-paid, great careers also result from studying
such subjects.
Mr (Leeds South West and Morley)
(Lab)
When I was a student at Morley high school, the University of
Leeds reached out to me and students like me to ensure that we
considered a place at the institution, despite the fees at the
time. Does the Secretary of State agree that, whatever the fees,
it is crucial that these universities expand access to
working-class students, to truly break down the barriers to
opportunity?
I agree very strongly. It is crucial that our university sector
does more to open up opportunities, including to working-class
young people and those who do not have a family history of going
to university. The experience that my hon. Friend described was
very much my experience too—not just the encouragement that I
received from my teachers but the opportunity to visit
universities and see what was available. Although often there is
individual good practice of the type he described, universities
should do more, particularly within their regions, to collaborate
to avoid duplication, ensure that they are serving their
communities and draw on the wide range of talent available. They
must make sure that university is an attractive option for young
people who otherwise might not consider going to higher
education.
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