Higher Education Fees

Debate between Lord Willetts and Ben Gummer

Thursday 9th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Willetts]

I can assure my hon. Friend, as I chair the group planning the use of that extremely valuable £150 million, that we will consider a range of options for who could be assisted by the scholarship programme.

I was explaining to the House how all three parties have reached the same conclusion, albeit by a rather circuitous route. When we were in opposition, my party voted against the fee increases in 2004, and we remember that decision because we were afraid that the effect of fees would be to put poor people off applying to university. We have now seen the evidence, however, and it shows that, since fees came in—and because there were loans as well—the proportion of people going to university from the poorest backgrounds in England has actually gone up. It has not gone down. Indeed, by contrast, in Scotland, the proportion of people from the poorest backgrounds attending university has fallen while it has gone up in England. That is why my party has concluded that fees supported by loans do not deter poor students from going to university.

The Liberal Democrat party and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when confronted with the challenge of how to deliver progressive policies in a time of austerity, have rightly concluded that this is what we have to do.

The Labour party, now so irresponsibly retreating to the comforts of Opposition, was explaining such policies six years ago. I see the shadow Chancellor laughing. Six years ago, he was in the position that I occupy today, and he explained only the other day, as well as anyone could, the logic of our proposals, in his famous note to the leader of the Labour party:

“Oh, and for goodness’ sake, don’t pursue a graduate tax. We should be proud of our brave and correct decision to introduce tuition fees. Students don’t pay them, graduates do, when they’re earning more than £15,000 a year, at very low rates, stopped from their pay just like a graduate tax, but with the money going where it belongs: to universities rather than the Treasury.”

Quite right. It was true then and it is true now.

[Ben Gummer]

Back in June, when the Leader of the Opposition was offering solutions, he said that instead of up-front fees, graduates under Labour’s scheme would be asked to contribute a small percentage of their salaries to a fund over a fixed period of time. The percentage would vary according to income. I struggle to understand the difference between his proposal and that of Government Front Benchers.