Tuition fee cap increase passed by Commons

The Government’s motion to raise the cap on HE tuition fees has been passed by the House of Commons, with a majority of 21 votes. From September 2012 Universities will be allowed to charge up to £6,000, or £9,000 if they meet conditions on widening participation. Those conditions are expected to be unveiled in the forthcoming Higher Education White Paper.

The days prior to the vote saw the announcements of a number of improvements to the proposed package. These included further details of the process for uprating earnings thresholds and plans to extend financing to part-time students studying for 25% of the time, compared to 33% of the time as initially proposed. The Government also announced the formation of a National Scholarship Programme Steering Group to make recommendations on how best to support poorer students.

In advance of the vote the Director General of the CBI, Richard Lambert, wrote to his members saying business will need to do more to support and encourage young people. Businesses “will need to help them to choose the right subjects to study, to offer relevant work experience, and where appropriate to work with universities to develop courses that will provide attractive employment for graduates,” he said.

Watch the debate

Read transcript of the commons debate

Read Richard Lambert’s letter to business leaders