Higher Education

Lord Shipley Excerpts

Thursday 7th March 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Shipley (LD)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett, for enabling us to have this extremely important debate. As someone whose main career was with the Open University, and then as a council leader, working closely with local universities in the north-east, I recognise the huge contribution that they make to their local economies. As Universities UK said in its Jobs of the Future report, more than 11 million extra graduates will be needed to fill jobs in the UK by 2035, in industries such as computing and engineering, teaching and education, and health. The latest developments in AI mean that there will be a 10% net increase in jobs that require a degree over the next 20 years. This comes at a time when the UK economy is stagnating.

However, the UK’s net zero economy grew by 9% in 2023, according to a report by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit and the CBI. This tells us that growth can be achieved if research and investment lead it. Universities, as so many speakers have said, are central in doing that. Some 90% of universities embed entrepreneurship in their degree programmes, and 80% of university research is categorised as world leading or internationally excellent. It must be built on.

In 2021, according to Universities UK, 21,000 spin-out companies were in existence, together with start-ups and social enterprises. We must build on that too. However, two weeks ago, on 21 February, there was a two-page advertisement funded by the UK Government in my regional morning paper, the Journal. The headline read: “Levelling up is happening here in the north-east”. That is good, and I welcome it, but the word “universities” never appeared, and it should have done. Indeed, a report by the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, based at Cambridge University, argued that the role of universities was not adequately recognised in the levelling up White Paper. I hope that the relevant departments across Whitehall will recognise that situation.

When I led Newcastle City Council a number of years ago, we developed very close working relationships with the two universities in the city and the regional development agency, One NorthEast. Our investment policies were aligned to buy the huge Newcastle breweries’ vacant site in the city centre. The council assembled the land and dealt with the planning side. One NorthEast provided capital and development support, and Newcastle University aligned its research and spin-out ambitions on the site. Multimillion pound cutting-edge investments have followed. We need more of that, and it is done through partnership work.

A lot has been said about overseas students. I agree entirely with what the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett, said: they are crucially important. They pay high fees and enable fees for UK students to be lower than they otherwise would be. They generate resource in our university cities and towns, particularly supporting the retail sector. We know that many overseas students are entrepreneurs and will set up businesses generating jobs. Overseas students have been vital for growth. The OBR has just reported that half of our projected growth will rely on immigration. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Bilimoria, that we should leave overseas students out of ONS figures, to be counted in immigration figures only if they stay.

In conclusion, I am absolutely convinced that universities are central to growth and productivity gain. I support the remarks made by a number of noble Lords, including my noble friends Lady Garden of Frognal and Lord Storey, about the importance of part-time higher education to the economy. A report by London Economics found that the Open University has a total economic impact of £2.8 billion across the UK, a benefit-to-cost ratio of £6 for every £1 spent. We should never forget the importance of part-time higher education and lifetime learning. We need to invest in our universities.