Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to retain the current level of tuition fees for home fee status students.

Maximum tuition fees, and the subsidised loans available from government to pay them, remain at £9,250 for the current, 2023/24, academic year in respect of standard full-time courses.

The department is also freezing maximum tuition fees for 2024/25 to deliver better value for students and to keep the cost of higher education under control. By 2024/25, maximum fees will have been frozen for seven years.

The department believes a continued fee freeze achieves the best balance between ensuring that the system remains financially sustainable, offering good value for the taxpayer, and reducing debt levels for students in real terms.

Higher education (HE) providers are autonomous and responsible for setting their own fees under this level. In deciding to keep charging full fees, providers will want to ensure that they can continue to deliver courses which are fit for purpose and help students progress their qualifications.

As part of wider HE reforms, the department is investing around £750 million of additional funding over the three year period from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to support high quality teaching and facilities including in science and engineering, subjects that support the NHS, and degree apprenticeships. This includes the largest increase in government funding for the HE Sector to support students and teaching in over a decade.