Higher Education: Affordability and Quality

Debate between Lord Bishop of Leicester and Baroness Finlay of Llandaff

Thursday 2nd July 2026 Lords Chamber

[The Deputy Speaker (Baroness Finlay of Llandaff) (CB)]

My Lords, we are resuming at 3.35 pm. That means that the debate was adjourned for 34 minutes. We will add injury time to the end time, so the new end time is 6.01 pm. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Leicester has some time left. We will resume with his speech and then proceed with the speeches in order.

[The Lord Bishop of Leicester]

I thank the noble Baroness very much. I am not used to having quite such a dramatic effect when I speak—I did not realise that what I was saying was quite so inflammatory.

I will be brief. The universities of the Cathedrals Group remind us that higher education is not only an economic endeavour but a moral and social one. It is about the formation of people, the strengthening of communities and the pursuit of the common good. If we are serious about that vision then we must ensure that the structures surrounding our institutions—financial, organisational and relational—enable them to fulfil that purpose.