Higher Education Fees

Steve Rotheram Excerpts

Thursday 9th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Adrian Bailey (West Bromwich West) (Lab/Co-op)]

As the Chair of the Select Committee on Business, Innovation and Skills, which is charged with monitoring and scrutinising Government policy in this area, I have to make the point that this issue has aroused more interest than any other that my Committee is charged with considering.

I have received submissions from many students and would-be students, from various groups of universities and from parents. However, above all, I have had submissions from different sectors of industry that know that their future well-being and capacity to grow the country out of recession will be crucially affected by such legislation. I am therefore very disappointed that, in bringing this item forward now, the Government are precluding the sort of scrutiny that is necessary and that will be introduced following the White Paper.

The White Paper should have been published before this move was made so that my Committee, and the House in general, could consider the issue in the round and make an informed judgment. Inevitably, when the Committee meets, it will do so when the funding and tuition fees issue has already been decided. We will have to examine the consequences and potential unintended consequences.

I refused to sign the fees pledge. I did so knowing that higher education would need more funding and that we would have to examine the funding system in the context of a difficult financial situation, which could result in difficult decisions. There is a legitimate debate to be had about the balance of interests between individual contributions, the benefit that someone gets from higher education and the public benefit that comes from that individual’s education, which the public should invest in. Unfortunately, the procedure adopted has precluded that debate from being held.

[Steve Rotheram (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

On 10 November in Prime Minister’s questions, the Deputy Prime Minister admitted to breaking the pledge he signed on tuition fees. However, on 21 November on the “Politics Show”, the Business Secretary denied breaking the tuition fees pledge. Which end of the Lib Dem pushmi-pullyu is right?

[Mr Bailey]

I do not want to be diverted by the grief and contortions of the Lib Dem party because there are some other very serious issues that need to be addressed.

Any package that is put forward must meet two criteria. The first is that it must provide the extra funding necessary to provide the flow of graduates into our industries and public services that will sustain the economy.