UK Government gives English higher education a secure future: Time for SNP to show leadership and do the same for Scotland

The UK Parliament has tonight voted in favour of the UK Government’s higher education funding plans, which will apply to higher education institutions in England and Wales.    

Liz Smith MSP, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education & Lifelong Learning, said:  

“The UK Government has taken a huge step forward in ensuring that English universities will now have a long-term sustainable future. With the combined aims of enhancing academic excellence, widening access and maintaining international competitiveness it is essential that universities find an additional source of income and a graduate contribution is the fairest way of achieving this.  

"It is progressive and fair because it gives increased support to poorer students, it allows graduates to pay back at rates which are affordable to their own individual circumstances and it means no-one pays anything before or while they are at university. This system also preserves the autonomy of the university system. Neither a graduate tax nor up-front tuition fees would achieve all these objectives.  

"After four years of dithering, the SNP finally needs to tells us what policy it will adopt in Scotland. Higher education institutions in Scotland are crying out for the Scottish Government to show leadership and today’s decision just makes the need for action even more urgent. It would be unforgiveable if Scotland got left behind.  

“It turns out that whilst opposing the proposals put forward by the Coalition, the NUS in England have been privately encouraging the UK Government to cut total spending on student support and grants and introduce a real rate of interest on loans in order to avoid raising the level at which the tuition fee cap is set.   

“Clearly, these are the sort of policies which will do the greatest damage to the most in need.  The NUS in Scotland needs to come clean about whether it supports such proposals. And the other parties in Scotland need to tell us what they would do to bring Scottish higher education into the 21st century."  

Scottish Conservatives reject up-front fees, and we reject a pure graduate tax. We accept there is going to have to be a graduate contribution, repayable from future earnings and at an affordable rate.

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