1. MSPs vote against tuition fees in Scotland
The Scottish Parliament has voted in favour of maintaining free higher education in Scotland. The vote, which saw MSPs voting 65-16 in support of the government’s position, followed a debate on fees before the publication of Lord Browne’s independent review of higher education funding and student finance.
Commenting on the vote, NUS Scotland President Liam Burns stated, “With the Scottish Parliament elections only a stone’s throw away, we can now move on to the really challenging debate of how we get student support above the poverty line and ensure university funding is sustainable.”
2. Scottish motion lodged in support of NUS Vote for Students campaign
A new Scottish Motion was tabled by Michael Russell MSP, commending the NUS Funding our Future pledge “on the basis that any rise in fees in England and Wales would be detrimental to the interests of Scottish universities”. It further congratulated Scottish members who have signed up to the pledge, and reaffirmed opposition to top-up fees in Scotland.
3. Parliamentary questions
Perkins - Access to Higher Education
Wednesday 2 June 2010 | House of Commons - Oral Question
Toby Perkins (Chesterfield) (Lab): Does the Prime Minister share the concerns of two schoolteachers from Chesterfield who came to see me this weekend, that children from areas of greater deprivation will suffer disproportionately from his plans to cut 10,000 university places?
The Prime Minister: First, I welcome the hon. Gentleman to his place as the Member of Parliament for Chesterfield. We can all remember one of his predecessors in that seat, Tony Benn, who left this House saying that he wanted to spend more time doing politics.
What I would say to the hon. Gentleman is that we want to help children from less well-off backgrounds by having a pupil premium. We will take money from outside the education budget to ensure that the pupil premium is well funded, so that children from the poorest homes get to go to the best schools and the money follows the pupil into those schools. As for university places, let me say this to the hon. Gentleman: we are expanding the number of university places by 10,000, compared with the legacy that we were left.
Lammy - University places
Thursday 3 June 2010 | House of Commons - Oral Question
Mr David Lammy (Tottenham) (Lab): I welcome the hon. Gentleman to his new role. I know that many in the higher education sector value the continuity that he provides, but they also value consistency. In November 2009, he said:
“At a time when the jobs market for young people is tougher than ever, it is far better to find them a place in education than to leave them languishing on the dole.”
Why, within days of taking up the job, has he done a volte face and condemned 10,000 young people to the dole by not providing extra student places to HE this summer? Is that not desperately hypocritical?
Mr Willetts: I look forward to my exchanges with the right hon. Gentleman, and of course I recognise his expertise as the former Minister for universities. As he held that position, I am sure that he remembers the grant letter that the former Secretary of State sent out in December 2009 to the Higher Education Funding Council, which involved a reduction in the number of students. We have delivered the pledge that we made to our party conference, and which is in the coalition agreement, of 10,000 extra places. That is why the amount of money going to universities in teaching grant this year is £50 million higher than the figure set out in the December 2009 letter.
Lavery - HE funding
Thursday 3 June 2010 | House of Commons - Oral Question
Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab): Does the Secretary of State acknowledge that cutting the higher education budget will place pressure on Lord Browne to conclude that student fees need to rise? Is it not the ultimate cop-out for the Secretary of State to cut the higher education budget and then abstain on student fees legislation?
The Minister for Universities and Science (Mr David Willetts): Of course, Lord Browne’s report was commissioned by the previous Government, on a cross-party basis, so those on both sides of the House will agree that it is right to wait for his report. As I explained to the House earlier, compared with the plans announced in December 2009, we have increased our contribution to student teaching so that we can deliver our pledge of extra student places.
Lavery - University funding
Thursday 3 June 2010 | House of Commons - Written Answer
Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has for funding universities in (a) 2010-11 and (b) future years.
Mr Willetts: Universities will receive a total of £7.3 billion from the Higher Education Funding Council for 2010, including £5.1 billion for teaching and £1.6 billion for research. This includes an increase of £70 million since the December 2009 grant letter. We are funding 10,000 extra university places in 2010-11 on the back of the coalition agreement to widen educational opportunities.