Tuition Fees

Sheila Gilmore Excerpts

Tuesday 30th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Eric Ollerenshaw]

May I finish this point?

It seems to me that what has been left out of the debate is the Government’s commitment to finding £150 million for a national scholarship scheme, and I congratulate Ministers on that. The coalition has been trying to do what the Labour Government talked about but never achieved—joined-up government, through our proposals for the pupil premium and for the national scholarship scheme. We are going even further, by demanding that universities that want to charge the highest rate should do much more—not just through scholarships, but through the work being done by charities and voluntary groups, such as the Social Mobility Foundation—to encourage pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds at least to try to aim a bit higher.