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Written question asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Henley (Conservative) on Thursday, 16 December 2010.

Higher Education: Tuition Fees

Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Browne report recommendation that maximum tuition fees rise to £9,000, what assessments or impact studies they have conducted on the number of students likely to attend higher education institutions who come from lower-income households; and what assessment they have made of the financial impact on universities’ teaching budgets and financial viability if the numbers of university students reduces by 10 per cent, 20 per cent or 25 per cent over the next four years.
Answer

The independent review of higher education funding and student finance led by Lord Browne recommended that there should be no upper limit on the amount universities are able to charge their full-time undergraduates. The Government, however, believe that there should be a defined absolute maximum on the graduate contribution which universities can charge, and have therefore proposed a higher amount maximum of £9,000 in exceptional circumstances, with a basic amount maximum of £6,000 unless universities agree a specific access plan for their institution with the Office for Fair Access. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published on the 29 November 2010 an interim impact assessment on urgent reforms to higher education funding and student finance, available at http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/higher-education/docs/i/10-1309-interim-impact-assessment-he-funding-and-student-finance.pdf. The assessment highlighted that a number of factors can influence participation and made reference to research carried out on the 2006-07 HE finance reforms, which found that while a £1,000 increase in fees could be expected to result in a 4.4 per cent decrease in participation, this would be offset by increases resulting from provision of loans and grants (3.2 per cent and 2.1 per cent increases). We expect the number of students to be broadly maintained at current levels. The assessment also indicated that the financial viability of HE institutions is affected by three major factors: individual institutions' ability to charge graduate contributions at different levels, the response from students to individual institutions, and the impact of broader funding changes. The Higher Education Funding Council for England will monitor the financial health and sustainability of institutions to protect the public investment in higher education, but higher education institutions are autonomous institutions and, if a university mismanages its affairs, we cannot offer a guarantee of protection.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
4941; 723 c216-7WA
Session
2010-12
Subjects
Admissions Finance Fees and charges Higher education Universities Students Student numbers
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk