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Written question asked by Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat) on Friday, 9 January 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 13 January 2026. It was answered by Josh MacAlister (Labour) on Monday, 2 February 2026 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Overseas Students: Fees and Charges

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed international student levy on the financial sustainability of UK universities; and what estimate her Department has made of the number of universities at risk of closure as a result of the combined effect of frozen tuition fees, inflationary pressures, and the proposed levy on international students.

Answer

Higher education (HE) providers are independent from government and as such are responsible for managing their own finances. Tuition fees are not frozen - the department has announced increases to tuition fee limits in line with forecast inflation for 2025/26, 2026/27, and 2027/28. We will also legislate, when parliamentary time allows, to increase tuition fee caps automatically for future academic years.

Over the next five years, tuition fee limit uplifts could generate an additional £6 billion for HE providers, significantly outweighing the currently projected less than £1 billion cost of the International Student Levy. This approach ensures the sector benefits from compounding annual increases, delivering growing resources to support quality education and innovation.

The Office for Students (OfS) is responsible for monitoring and reporting on the financial sustainability of registered HE providers. The department will continue to work closely with the OfS to understand the financial implications of policy changes on HE providers.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
104537
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Closures Finance Fees and charges Higher education Overseas students
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk