Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support universities.

The Government recognises the vital role that universities play in delivering opportunity, supporting skills, driving innovation and contributing to economic growth across the country.

While higher education providers are responsible for managing their own finances, the Government remains committed to creating a secure future for the sector so it can continue to deliver for students, taxpayers, workers and the economy.

We increased tuition fee caps in line with inflation in academic year 2025/26. We are also increasing tuition fee caps in line with forecast inflation in 2026/27 and 2027/28 and will legislate, when parliamentary time allows, to increase tuition fee caps for future academic years. Over the next five years, these uplifts could generate around £6 billion of additional income for the sector.

The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper also sets out the Government’s commitment to placing higher education on a more sustainable footing, supporting providers to drive efficiency, strengthen financial resilience and adopt more effective operating models.

We continue to work closely with the Office for Students, the independent regulator of higher education providers in England, to understand the sector’s changing financial landscape and ensure that the interests of students and taxpayers are protected.

More broadly, the White Paper sets out how we will support the sector to become more specialised and efficient, and better aligned with the needs of the economy.