Higher Education: Funding and Student Finance

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd November 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Wilcox]

I am afraid that I do not know. The devolved assemblies will carry on doing things in the way that they wish, and we will consult them. However, today I am speaking for universities in England. Of course, as time goes on and we go forward, we will debate and consult with all the devolved assemblies in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to see how we can best work together and learn from best practice.

[Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean]

My Lords, the noble Baroness has done her best to answer the questions, but it might be helpful if she gets a rather fuller briefing before dealing with a Statement of such enormous importance.

I return to the point raised by my noble friend Lord Triesman. I am sure that she heard her colleague, Michael Gove, on the radio this morning. He announced the main points in his interview on “Today”. The Front Bench opposite has said all sorts of things about election promises, but one thing that is certain is that Ministers must abide by the Ministerial Code. Has the noble Baroness read the code? If she has, she will remember that Section 9.1 states:

“When Parliament is in session, the most important announcements of Government policy should be made in the first instance, in Parliament”.

That is an unequivocal statement that all Ministers must abide by. Will she tell us what in that unequivocal statement the Government do not understand?

[Baroness Wilcox]

I do not know the circumstances of the interview and I do not know whether it was leaked. Michael Gove made a very good statement. It has been a very busy day, we have a lot to do and the noble Baroness has been, as she always is, very gracious. However, I have read the Ministerial Code, so I do not think that she can find me wanting on that point. She may feel that my knowledge of the breadth of the brief that I have is not as great as that of others. In this House—as the noble Baroness knows from the debate that we had last week—we have some wonderful minds and noble Lords who represent some of the finest universities not only in this country but in the world. I have tried my best today to do what I could—it is a very big brief—and, if I did not answer as well as the noble Baroness hoped, I am very sorry. However, if anyone wishes to write to me with other questions, I will happily answer them.

The Browne report, which was commissioned by the then Labour Government and which we have supported, is ground-breaking stuff. We are only too pleased that the previous Administration commissioned the noble Lord to do this work. We have taken on board the six principles that he outlines. This is a very exciting way to take our country forward. The report talks about building the greatness of our nation for tomorrow's world and I do not think that I could end on any better line than that. We as the Government of this country will do our best to achieve that.