Higher Education (England) Regulations

Debate between Wes Streeting and Alan Mak

Wednesday 13th September 2017 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

He has finished.

[Alan Mak]

If the hon. Gentleman does not want to intervene, I will continue.

As I was saying, the policies articulated at the time of the election were not only unrealistic but unaffordable. They would have added to the national debt and burdened future generations with their own debts, but they would also have choked off our higher education system from the essential funding that it needs. That is why I support the regulations. They are reasonable, they bring extra resources into the higher education system, and they sensibly and reasonably allow fees to be increased in line with inflation to ensure that, in real terms, the system is protected. Students and their parents, employers and universities want a fair and reasonable system that provides both wide access and sustainable funding, and I therefore urge the House to support the regulations.