Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of students likely to be affected by the withdrawal of Strategic Priorities Grant funding for journalism courses in 2025–26.

The government provides funding through the Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) on an annual basis to support teaching and students in higher education (HE). We are prioritising support for high-cost subjects that are essential to the delivery of our Industrial Strategy and for access to HE for disadvantaged groups. The removal of SPG funding for journalism courses aligns with this.

We are prioritising investment in science, engineering and technology subjects. Media studies, journalism, publishing and information services are all important and valued subjects, and the government acknowledges their importance, alongside numerous other subjects that do not attract SPG high-cost subject funding, such as history, languages, economics, mathematics and law.

Funding for all subjects, including journalism, will benefit from the increase in tuition fee limits in line with inflation. The maximum fee for a standard full-time undergraduate course in the 2025/26 academic year will increase by 3.1%, from £9,250 to £9,535.

HE providers are autonomous bodies, independent from government, and are responsible for deciding which courses to offer.