Pete Wishart
Main Page: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and Kinross-shire)(13 years, 11 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Pete Wishart (Perth and North Perthshire) (SNP)
I am very grateful to the Secretary of State. Does he even begin to understand or appreciate the potentially disastrous impact that trebling tuition fees in England will have on Scottish universities? What will he do to mitigate that?
Vince Cable
I most emphatically will not be following the advice of the Scottish nationalists in government, who are starving Scottish universities of resources and reallocating priorities to cut schools. That is what has happened in Scotland.
Dr Alasdair McDonnell (Belfast South) (SDLP)
Because time is worryingly short, given the importance of what is being discussed and the fact that so many Members wish to contribute, I will keep my remarks as brief as possible. Although I have much to say, I hope to accommodate others as best I can.
We need only look outside our windows, not just today but over the past few weeks, to see the strength of feeling that has been generated by this issue. I would like to offer my support to those students, many of whom are from my own constituency, who have come here to make a peaceful and reasonable protest. I have substantial sympathy for the case made by the hon. Member for Leeds North West (Greg Mulholland) about a serious conversation and a greater degree of consensus on the issue.
For me, the whole future of the high-tech, high-value-added economy to which we all subscribe depends very much on equality and access to third-level education. The Government have chosen—I reiterate the word “chosen”—to subject students who wish to study in England to the highest fees in the western world outside the United States. In my brief comments, I want to draw attention to how much—or should I say, how little?—consideration has been given to the impact that these measures will have on Northern Ireland, students from Northern Ireland, and indeed the devolved regions and students from those places as well. A large number of students from Northern Ireland, particularly from my own constituency, undertake their studies at universities in England and will therefore be subject to the higher fees. Indeed, in Northern Ireland nearly a third of our students move outside Northern Ireland; in my constituency, that percentage is even higher. As such, there is likely to be a dramatic increase in the cost to the Northern Ireland Executive—it has been placed at close to £30 million —in order to meet the generated costs.
Pete Wishart
Does the hon. Gentleman share my disappointment that this Government have given absolutely no consideration to the impact that this has on the devolved nations, including Scotland? Will he join me in trying to encourage the Government to think as much as possible about what these plans will do to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales? So far they have given that no thought whatsoever.
Dr McDonnell
I agree with the hon. Gentleman. It is difficult for those of us who come here attempting to encourage devolution and work to create a bridge between the devolved Governments in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales and the Government here in this House, because this action in many ways erodes and undermines the devolution that has taken place.
That is compounded by the problems with the Barnett formula and the implications for Barnett formulation. The consequential cuts to university teaching budgets have already been passed on to the Executive, so we are being hit twice in advance of any changes that might be made to student fee arrangements. We need considerable clarity on the new arithmetic that is being used in Barnett formulation if we are to understand the knock-on effects of the proposals.
Why should the Northern Ireland Executive face the penalisation of students through the student funding proposals, while their budget is already being penalised through the Barnett formula? We are forced to tread the nearly impossible path of protecting our students who wish to study at universities in England, while providing the funding that is necessary to sustain the universities in Northern Ireland. All too often, the argument is framed only in terms of the impact of the measures on England, rather than in the context of the devolved nations.
Thanks to Social Democratic and Labour party colleagues who have served in the Northern Ireland Assembly and as Ministers in previous Northern Ireland Executives, there has been since devolution a reduction in the number of people who pay fees. We reduced the amount of money that people had to pay and we were the first to bring back student grants to widen access for those on the margins and those who are impoverished in our society. That shows that progressive elements can be injected into the existing system without having to triple tuition fees or radically alter the system.
The measures proposed by the coalition Government will place enormous pressure on universities in Northern Ireland to raise their fees to match the fees in England.
Duncan Hames
What amazes me is that Labour Members were not prepared to raise the £15,000 threshold in any of the last six years.
There has been another failure since the Opposition introduced tuition fees, which has been inadequately addressed for too long—for 13 years, indeed.
Duncan Hames
I will not take any more interventions.
Back in 1997, the Dearing report concluded that the cost of higher education should be shared among those who benefited from it: the student, the state and the employer. For the past 13 years, the Government have ignored the conclusion that employers should also contribute to the cost of higher education. Not only are graduate employers not required to make a direct contribution, but there appears to be no method of facilitating that, even on a discretionary basis. I invite the Government and industry to develop broader proposals to facilitate, and even encourage, direct employer contributions to graduates’ higher education. Such contributions would effectively reduce what is being asked of graduates themselves. They could even prove to be more tax-efficient for the enlightened employers who chose to make them.
In the weeks since the publication of the Browne review, I have persistently sought to persuade the Government to amend their proposals to make them fairer. The Government have responded constructively, and have listened while others have failed to set out a fair and affordable alternative. In this way, we are making things fairer; and although there is more to do, I am confident that Ministers will continue to engage with the issues. That is why I will join them in the Aye Lobby.
I promised my constituents that I would work towards a fairer system of higher education funding. That is indeed what I have done, and it is what I will continue to do.
Jonathan Edwards
The hon. Gentleman makes an interesting point that comes from his personal experience, and I am sure that everyone in the House has listened to those concerns. A very serious accusation has been laid at the door of not only this Parliament, but those before us. It is that, having benefited from free education paid for by taxation, we are pulling the drawbridge up behind us and leaving others to pay.
I need not remind hon. Members that the Labour party, whose Members are now complaining so passionately about an increase in tuition fees, was the party that first broke the compact with our young people and undermined the concept of free education for all. Fees were introduced in 1998, with a higher rate following in 2004. The very fact that this new funding regime is being introduced by a statutory instrument indicates that this is a continuation of Government policy, rather than a new development.
Pete Wishart
We all know the record of the Labour party, which includes having introduced tuition fees, but does the hon. Gentleman share my surprise that Scottish Liberal Democrats will be voting for this English-based measure? It offers no benefit for Scotland, only pain and hurt. Does he welcome the opportunity that his nation and my nation will have to cast their verdict on the Liberal Democrats next May?
Jonathan Edwards
As always, my hon. Friend makes an excellent point. Education is a right, not a privilege. The benefits that a highly skilled and well-educated population and work force provide are crucial if we are to maintain our position in the world, and to continue to develop a knowledge and value economy. In Wales, we believe that with the right support we can become a small, clever country, like our Scandinavian friends, delivering a better quality of life for our people. That is why last week’s announcement by the Welsh Government is to be welcomed. It shows why it is important that we have our own Government in Wales, so that policy can be based on our values as a nation. It is also why I believe the electorate of Wales will vote next March to confirm further powers for the National Assembly, so that Wales can achieve full political sovereignty over devolved policy areas.
Many hon. Members will not have heard that announcement in detail. Made by a different Member for Rhondda than we usually hear from in this House, the announcement by the “One Wales” Government affirms that: they do not support full cost or near full cost fees; they do not believe that higher education should be organised on the basis of a market; and they do not believe that it is sustainable in the long term for the UK to adopt a policy of having the highest tuition fees for higher education in the world outside the USA.
In “One Wales”, we in Plaid Cymru and Labour, committed ourselves to doing whatever was possible to mitigate the effects on Welsh-domiciled students if the Westminster Government lifted the cap on fees, because we believe that access to higher education should be based on academic ability, not the ability to pay. In other words, the increase in fees for Welsh-domiciled students, whether they study in Wales, England, Scotland or Northern Ireland, will be paid for by the Welsh Government. Welsh-domiciled students will continue to be eligible for subsidised loans to meet the cost of fees up to the current level.
Mr Willetts
Absolutely right. Lord Browne produced an excellent report. There is a group, “Blairites for Browne”, but of course they fell for that trick once before, so they are a bit wary this time.
The House should recognise that our proposals improve on the inheritance from the Labour Government. We have not only raised the threshold but increased the maintenance support available to students. Indeed, 500,000 students will receive more grant than they currently do.
Pete Wishart
I am very grateful to the Minister for giving way, but there are more than three parties in the House. Does he recognise that one party has consistently opposed tuition fees, is in government in Scotland and will have nothing whatsoever to do with tuition fees?
Mr Willetts
Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will explain how, under the English system, more Scottish students study at English universities than English students study at Scottish universities. We know how to invest in high quality universities for the future, in the best interests of English students and the nation.
We have increased the repayment threshold and the value of the maintenance grant and, of course, we have offered a far better deal for part-time students than is currently available to them. In future, part-time students will be eligible for fee loans, which they do not currently receive.