Higher Education Funding

Debate between Lord Willetts and Liz Kendall

Wednesday 3rd November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Willetts]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and the crucial thing is the number of young people who are anxious because they think that they somehow have to pay fees up-front, when that is not the case. [Interruption.] During the Labour leadership contest over the summer, it became clear that at least one candidate seemed to believe that students paid fees up-front. That is not the system, and our proposals, with our new graduate contribution, are a fairer, more progressive way, because the point at which graduates start repaying will be so much higher than it is at the moment.

[Liz Kendall (Leicester West) (Lab)]

As well as giving extra support to those on low incomes, a genuinely progressive student finance system would ensure that those who ended up on a middle income, let us say of £21,000 to £41,000, paid proportionately less of their income and lifetime earnings than higher earners. Can the Minister guarantee that that will be the case?

[Mr Willetts]

Yes. On the estimates that we have done—and we are placing some of our figures in the Library, not least because of the request from the shadow Secretary of State—it is clear, contrary to the rather misleading report in The Guardian the other week, which in turn drew on some work by the Social Market Foundation, that as graduates go through each stage on the earnings scale, they will be expected to pay more.