Education secretary says university tuition increases are ‘urgently required’

We spoke to the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson about the rise, and began by asking what her message was to students who may feel let down by today’s announcement.

Bridget Phillipson: I have to be upfront about the fact that this was not a decision that I wanted to take, but I think was urgently required, because our universities are facing really serious financial challenges. They haven’t been gripped for years. And I want students, young people, to have the chance to go to university. But in order for that to happen, we’ve got to make sure that our university sector is on a more financially sustainable footing. But I’ve also been clear today in the statement that I made in parliament, that alongside the additional investment that’s going in, there must be an expectation of reform in the system.

Ciaran Jenkins: Can you explain then what you meant when you said in June last year, ‘Graduates, you will pay less under a Labour government’?

Bridget Phillipson: Yeah, I am determined to deliver a reformed system. Today I’ve taken the difficult decision of increasing fees for one year. We will look at the wider reform that’s required right across the system and that includes both student funding and finance, but also the state of the sector overall because I think…

Ciaran Jenkins: Sorry to cut in, but it’s obviously important that if you promise that people will pay less, that graduates would pay less under a Labour government, are you now saying that that is still the case? That’s still the promise?

Bridget Phillipson: I want to deliver a better system for students. That remains true. But I have to be upfront about the scale of it. Well, a better system. A fairer system. But I have to…

Ciaran Jenkins: Does that mean they’re not going to pay less though? They’re your words Ms Phillipson, they’re your words. I’m just asking, are you sticking to them or have you ripped that up?

Bridget Phillipson: No, I’m determined to deliver a better, fairer system for students and for the university sector. That remains true. What I do have to be upfront about, is that the public finances are in a terrible mess. We face some really tough choices right across education. Obviously, we’re talking at the moment about universities, absolutely crucial. But I face some tough choices right across the board as Education Secretary, in early years, in schools and further education colleges. There will have to be reform as a part of that. And I do expect more from the university sector, particularly where it comes to making sure that university is there as an option for young people from working-class backgrounds.

Ciaran Jenkins: And you said today in parliament that you wanted more efficiencies from universities and that means reining in excessive spend and waste. What are you getting at there? Can you give us some examples?

Bridget Phillipson: What I’m saying to the sector, take a long, hard look at executive pay and make sure they’re doing everything that they can to drive economic growth, to play their part in the system and to act as civic anchors in towns and cities.

Ciaran Jenkins: The question was about examples where they’re not reining in expense and waste.

Bridget Phillipson: Wasteful spending, executive pay, they should take action in those areas.

Ciaran Jenkins: So you want to see vice chancellors paid less?

Bridget Phillipson: I think in the wider context, particularly where it comes to the difficulties that many students are experiencing, then yes, vice chancellors should make sure that their pay and the pay of their wider leadership teams is fair and can be justified.

Ciaran Jenkins: Can you rule out further raising of tuition fees in this parliament?

Bridget Phillipson: As part of the reform that we will now be embarking on in the months to come, we’ll be looking at all of these decisions, both in terms of student support, the level of the fee, but also the sector overall, working with the Office for Students, the regulator and with the sector too. So I’m not ruling anything out or ruling anything in, but this is something that in the months to come, I want to work with the sector on, to get this right.

Ciaran Jenkins: And just finally, on the one hand, you’re saying universities can have more money in the form of increased tuition fees, but this Labour government is also asking them to pay more in national insurance contributions in tax. So are they actually going to be better off universities after those two changes?

Bridget Phillipson: Like all businesses, it’s for universities to decide how they manage their budgets. Universities are autonomous independent institutions. They prize that. But what I would say is that when we set out details around the secondary legislation that will be laid before parliament, we will publish an impact assessment around that as well.