Higher Education

Lord Watson of Richmond Excerpts

Wednesday 9th April 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Watson of Richmond (LD)]

My Lords, we have heard many fine and powerfully well informed speeches in this debate. In particular, I congratulate the last speaker on extolling the virtues of Cambridge—and I may attempt in some small measure to do the same. However, one speech that I have been particularly struck by today was that of the noble Lord, Lord Hennessy. He referred to the teaching of Humboldt that there is a vital link between teaching and research. One of the things that is important to the University of Cambridge is the need to maintain that link, and indeed we have prizes which are awarded on the vote of the students for who they think have been the most effective teachers. When the so-called Pilkington Prizes first started, many of the teachers were slightly alarmed at the prospect; now, they find them a very useful thing. I should declare an interest as the high steward of the University of Cambridge and, for a number of years, as the chair of the Cambridge Foundation.

Last month I spoke at an enormous, interesting and different sort of conference held in Dubai, of the Global Education and Skills Forum. I was asked, not once but several times, and perhaps with a touch of envy, how it was that Cambridge was able to,

“achieve excellence, retain choice and maintain its freedom to choose its future direction at a time of funding shortages and austerity”.

It is the sort of question that the Minister faces on a regular basis. Predictably, and perhaps also a little glibly, I replied that for Cambridge, as indeed for many other universities, excellence and freedom are interdependent. For this reason, I was happy with one specific sentence in the letter dated 10 February from the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, and jointly signed by the Minister of State for Universities and Science, to the chair of HEFCE. The sentence states:

“It is for you to take the decisions on how you allocate your budgets”.

However, the letter continued, perhaps predictably, to say: “you should deliver savings”, and,

“make greater progress in delivering efficiencies”.

It was a predictable exchange. It reminded me of some very sharp and relevant words of our current vice-chancellor at Cambridge University, who said in a lecture last year that without financial resources,

“in sufficient quantity and—critically—in sufficient variety”,

freedom is,

“like a torch without batteries”.

As many of your Lordships have said today, we are of course rightly proud of higher education in the United Kingdom. It generates £73 billion for our economy and contributes 2.8% of our total GDP. We are not only economically enriched by this but enhanced intellectually, culturally and, I would argue, spiritually. It is vital to our quality of life and our ability to survive and to succeed. At its best, it enjoys the very highest reputation, which, combined with the critical advantage of teaching in a global language—our own—has ensured huge success.

However, I wish to focus briefly on what I believe are two causes for quite serious concern which, if not addressed, could erode our position and, indeed, imperil it. The first is highlighted in HEFCE’s report, Global Demand for English Higher Education, which was published this month. The fact is that the number of overseas students starting courses in England has fallen for the first time in almost 30 years. The numbers are not huge but the trend is worrying. There is also a 1% fall in those embarking on full-time postgraduate degrees. The biggest falls here are in the numbers from India and Pakistan—to which reference has already been made—which are down 51% and 49% respectively. At the same time, the United States is reporting a 10% increase in postgraduate intake, including a 40% increase from India. Australia is seeing significant increases, facilitated in part by streamlining and simplifying visa provision.

In this regard, I agree strongly with the recent remarks of my noble friend Lord Howell of Guildford, who said that our restrictions on visas are creating a “blot” on our reputation. It is a blot, but also a blow to our resources; not only because we earn so much from international study—which we do—but because, as my noble friend Lady Williams said during the Immigration Bill debate last month,

“no less than 33% of academics currently serving in Russell group universities come from overseas”.—[Official Report, 12/3/14; col.1786.]

As well as falling numbers, there is a second fall, in real resources. The mathematics—the arithmetic, if you like—are certainly complicated. Universities UK said, on receipt of the annual grant letter to HEFCE to which I referred earlier, that although it was of course “pleased” that,

“high cost subjects … widening participation and small and specialist institutions are to be protected”,

at the same time, all certainly seemed to be threatened by the projected budgetary cuts for 2014-15 and 2015-16. While it is of course good that the Government have maintained their ring-fence around science and research, we have got to commit long term to fund research above the rate of inflation. We currently spend a lower proportion of our GDP on higher education than our rivals. Our future competitiveness requires that we spend more.

I said at the start that while there is much of which to be proud in the United Kingdom’s higher education achievement, there are also causes for concern. Trends are now emerging which, if not reversed, could indeed erode our position: falling numbers overall of overseas students choosing to come here from abroad, including from the European Union; and in real terms failing to stay ahead of inflation in our funding of research and development. These trends need to be reversed.