University Top-Up Fees

2003

The Government recently published its White Paper on Higher Education. The main proposal is to allow universities to raise extra money by charging "top-up" tuition fees of up to £3,000 per year (compared with the present £1,100). They would only be allowed to do this if they satisfy a new "access regulator" that they are doing enough to attract students from a wide range of backgrounds.

Other aspects of the package include the limited reintroduction of maintenance grants of £1,000 per year for the lowest income students, and the end of "up-front" payment of tuition fees. All debts, expected to average around £15,000 per student on graduation, would be repayable in the decades after graduation, with people on higher incomes repaying at a faster rate.

I am opposing these plans.  I recently asked 1,000 of my constituents for their views, and they voted 4 to 1 against allowing universities to charge "top-up" tuition fees to raise extra money.

I have voted against tuition fees at every opportunity in the House of Commons and will continue to do so.

To see some arguments against tuition fees, you can follow the links on the following site:   http://www.scraptuitionfees.com/