Comprehensive Spending Review Debate

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Department: HM Treasury
Wednesday 20th October 2010

(13 years, 7 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Lord Newby Portrait Lord Newby
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My Lords—

Lord Winston Portrait Lord Winston
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My Lords—

None Portrait Noble Lords
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Newby!

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Lord Desai Portrait Lord Desai
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My Lords—

Lord Winston Portrait Lord Winston
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My Lords, would the Minister be kind enough to answer my noble friend Lord Eatwell’s question about universities? Does he agree that the Browne review can in no way cover the costs of teaching, which we need, in the universities which contribute so much to our economy beyond the STEM subjects and so much to our civilised society?

Lord Sassoon Portrait Lord Sassoon
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I am very happy to endorse absolutely that sentiment of how critical it is to support the finest universities in the world, which stand up with the universities of the US at the top of all the league tables. While we preserve critical elements of science spending, there needs to be a fundamental rebalancing—that is exactly what the noble Lord, Lord Browne, proposed in his report—between what the state can afford to pay and the contributions paid by those who benefited from a university education. That is what we are proposing.