HC Deb 02 April 2003 vol 402 cc1041-8

Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Mr. Ainger]

8.5 pm

Linda Gilroy (Plymouth, Sutton)

I am very pleased to have secured a debate on this important topic at a time when the consultation on the White Paper on the future of higher education is nearing its conclusion. The White Paper is set to affect many of my constituents—whether students, their parents or staff—and those of my neighbour, the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Devonport (Mr. Jamieson).

In launching the White Paper, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills paid great tribute to the success story of our universities. I join him in acknowledging that success, particularly that of Plymouth university. I welcome the publication of the White Paper and the boldness with which my right hon. Friend has set out an agenda to address what he calls the great missions, describing them as strengthening and improving our research and development, knowledge transfer and, perhaps most importantly, teaching.

Nowhere is that agenda of greater importance or better appreciated than in Plymouth. We need to provide university activity in a dynamic and increasingly competitive world—a world where we need to do much more to harness our knowledge to the process of creating wealth and to extend the opportunities of higher education to all, irrespective of their personal and economic backgrounds.

From a low and unfunded research base in 1989, Plymouth, which became a university in 1992, now has a research and consultancy turnover of more than £11 million. More than half of its research activity is rated at international and/or national standard across a wide spectrum of technology, science, social science and the arts. Seventeen subject areas have been assessed for teaching quality, yielding an average mark of almost 90 per cent.

Student numbers have grown from 6,000 to 27,000–16,000 of those are full-time, with nearly 500 PhD students. Staff numbers in the same period have grown by only 50 per cent. to 3,000, reflecting not only high productivity gains, but substantial pressures on staff. I welcome the recognition in the 'White Paper that achieving better conditions for staff—whose pay has increased in real terms by only 5 per cent., while average pay in the community has increased by some 45 percent.—has an important part to play in improving the quality of teaching to which the White Paper aspires.

That growth in activity has been accompanied by developing partnership work with 17 further education colleges, with 4,500 higher education students funded through the university in those colleges. Links with industry and commerce are now embedded in a variety of ways—for example, through 30 teaching company schemes, funded by the Department of Trade and Industry, as well as competitively funded initiatives, such as "reach out to business" and "community rural access training", run by RATIO—Rural Area Training and Information Opportunities—and the university's consultancy company. Together, that amounts to business worth well over £50 million since 1989.

Together with Exeter university and local NHS trusts, the university successfully bid to establish the Peninsula medical school, which is one of the first new medical schools for 30 years. It admitted its first students in 2002 and is already making a substantial name for itself.

That substantial record of achievement marked the success of the 13-year tenure of Professor John Bull as vice-chancellor of the university, and Victor Parsons as chairman, both of whom relinquished their posts in 2002, thereby giving the university the opportunity to recruit a new vice-chancellor. They set out to look for someone who could help the university to make a further transformational leap forward and, through developing its research and technology, to become the dynamic engine house of the sub-regional economy in Devon and Cornwall. Cornwall has objective 1 status and Plymouth has objective 2 status. Large parts of Torbay and north Devon also have that status, reflecting poverty in the sub-region.

The university has been fortunate to find Professor Roland Levinsky, the first vice-chancellor of a new university to come from one of the elite Russell Group research universities. He has a long and successful track record in medical research and he was described to me by a colleague who knows more about these matters than I do as someone for whom almost any university would give its eye teeth.

When I went to meet Professor Levinsky during the week in which the White Paper was published, I expected to face some challenges about how student fee proposals might affect the development of our university. I shall return to that matter towards the end of my remarks. However, I was met—on reflection, I understand this—with much greater concern about the proposals to concentrate research funding in a few universities, and the impact that that will have on the aspirations of the University of Plymouth.

The fear is that funding research in elite universities at the 2001 research assessment exercise snapshot level will maintain the status quo for a long time to come and, on the worst-case scenario, perhaps for ever.

Writing to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, Professor Levinsky said: I think one should just reflect where the Universities of York, Warwick, Southampton, Bath and Lancaster were in research terms 10–15 years ago and look how they reached the top 20. Some of today's leaders may be overtaken by some of the new (ex-polytechnic) universities if they are nurtured and funded appropriately over the next generation and one or two may indeed become the UK's equivalent of Ann Arbor USA. I acknowledge that Universities need to have diverse missions but regions should also have strong research and teaching universities to promote economic vitality. My region, especially the sub-region, needs that more than almost anywhere.

Paragraph 2.7 of the White Paper sets out the Government's position that there is apparently no direct relationship between research and teaching quality. It states:

There is ample evidence of the highest quality teaching being achieved in circumstances which are not research intensive". That may be true in certain areas—perhaps, for example, undergraduate mathematics—but in areas where the technology, methods and codes of practice are fast evolving, high-quality teaching will not be achieved where research to attainable national excellence levels does not exist. I would argue that these areas include disciplines such as engineering, medicine, health and allied studies, as well as environmental sciences, all of which happen to be key activities at the University of Plymouth. They are complementary to the economic development priorities that have been identified by the South West of England Development Agency.

I understand that the professional accreditation of such degrees includes explicit linkages between research, teaching and professional practice. Such departments are often teaching intensive, to further the Government's aims to widen participation and to provide the technologically literate work force that modern society demands. The proposals in the White Paper require careful consideration if, as some fear, they set in tablets of stone the significant reduction of the research resource resulting from RAE 4—the research assessment exercise for rated departments—bearing in mind the fact that there was a 43 per cent. reduction in allocations between 2001–02 and 2003–04. That is particularly relevant to institutions such as the Plymouth university, where the research trajectory is strongly upwards. I have described how, over the past 10 years, Plymouth has developed from a polytechnic in to one of the most successful modern universities.

The University of Plymouth is understandably concerned about the apparent vision in the White Paper that universities such as Plymouth should become teaching-only institutions with some regional involvement, perhaps, in the delivery of business skills and the transfer of technologies that have, however, been developed elsewhere. If the Government are serious about promoting a regional agenda that regards regional development agencies as the engine of national as well as regional growth, they must surely support research on a regional basis, particularly, as I have already mentioned, because we have objective 1 status in Cornwall—my hon. Friend the Minister for Lifelong Learning and Higher Education is visiting the county today, and will see for herself what is being done—and objective 2 status in Plymouth and Devon. We have a significant gap to make up, and being at the cutting edge of research and development is one of the visions that our RDA must help us to achieve.

I want to mention two specific examples from Plymouth, which show the importance of considering carefully the consequences of the White Paper proposals. First, on environmental sciences, the most recent RAE exercise resulted in only four 5-rated departments in the whole country. If RAE grade 4 Departments in environmental science are not funded, the UK will throw away some of the best environment al science in the country—Plymouth, which has a grade 4, is the seventh-best department in the UK—leaving only two universities doing environmental science research, including one doing meteorology, which is a narrow focus.

Secondly, Plymouth has one of the eight new medical schools, which, because of the point at which they were formed during the RAE cycle, did not have research staff to put forward for assessment. Because of the way in which that cycle and the comprehensive spending review work, the fear is that it may be 2008 before ally revenue funding for research comes on stream for medical faculties. In most people's view, medical education needs to be conducted in a research-rich environment. In addition, the significant contribution that the Tamar science park is making to economic regeneration in our city, could, it is feared, slow down as a result of the emerging deficit in research funding. A vicious circle may result if it then becomes less easy to attract and retain the best clinical academic staff, with a consequent impact on the quality of teaching.

Finally, I want to deal with the perceived impact of student fees and finance. As the Minister knows, there is general concern that increasing levels of student debt will result in more people turning to locally provided higher education, particularly as students from debt-averse, low-income families will inevitably choose the lowest-cost option. If, alongside that, the fears that I have outlined of a teaching-only university are realised, students from the peninsula could have less access to high-quality higher education than they do at present or indeed than their counterparts elsewhere. I hope that my hon. Friend will offer some reassurance about those matters. Plymouth university has a wealth of experience in raising standards through good practice in the research-teaching nexus, and in achieving high-quality access, for which it has been praised by the Audit Commission.

This is an age when education, knowledge and skill are likely to become a powerful determinant of the ability of individuals and their communities to meet their full potential—as powerful a determinant as money. It is a period when regional policy is supposed to improve economic performance in each and every region, and thereby contribute to the overall economic performance of UK plc. If we are to create for each of us the means to realise our true potential and for all of us as a community in which power, wealth and opportunity are in the hands of the many and not the few"— my hon. Friend will recognise that quote from clause 4 of the Labour party constitution—it is important that we take the opportunity offered by the Government's White Paper to set a course for the higher education community in Plymouth, as well as in some of our longer-established university cities, which truly achieves those "great missions" that the Secretary of State clearly wants to see.

8.21 pm
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Skills (Mr. Ivan Lewis)

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important Adjournment debate, and take this opportunity to acknowledge her passionate advocacy on behalf of her constituents and the institutions in her constituency across a range of issues, but particularly in relation to education. I am delighted that she is conducting a survey in her area on the higher education White Paper to ascertain the views of students, constituents, academics and people working in the world of education, to get a considered and measured response to the various proposals in the White Paper.

I acknowledge the strength and achievements of the University of Plymouth. I refer particularly to its strong strategy for widening participation and excellent collaborative links with further education colleges throughout the region. I endorse my hon. Friend's plaudits for the former vice-chancellor and chair of the University of Plymouth and for Professor Levinsky.

Linda Gilroy

Does my hon. Friend accept that one of the things for which Plymouth is well known in respect of widening participation is not only getting students into the university, but supporting them in such a way that they get good qualifications, which is much more difficult to achieve?

Mr. Lewis

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend's assessment of the success of Plymouth in that regard. It is important to welcome and encourage applicants and entrants to university from a far more diverse range of backgrounds than has been the case historically, but that would be futile if too many of those young people, having gained access to university, dropped out. Plymouth's work in widening access and ensuring that that is meaningful and leads to high-level qualifications and ultimately skilled employment should be supported as good practice. Other institutions can learn from the work that Plymouth has done in that respect.

My hon. Friend raised a number of issues related to funding. It is important to place in context the level of investment in her area. The University of Plymouth will receive total resources of about £78 million in 2003–04. That excludes capital allocations and special funding initiatives. That sum represents a 7.3 per cent. increase on the funding provided last year and includes increases in funding for teaching, widening participation and research. The neighbouring University of Exeter will receive total recurrent resources of just under £46 million, which is a 6.5 per cent. increase on 2002–03.

As my hon. Friend has said, in order to meet the current and future needs of the national health service, the Government have engaged in a major expansion of the number of students studying to become doctors. New medical schools, including the Peninsula medical school, are making a significant contribution towards those targets. I very much welcome their work and congratulate them on what they have achieved so far. I am aware of the specific issue of research funding for the Peninsula medical school, given that it is in a very early stage in its development. The Higher Education Funding Council for England—HEFCE—and the Department of Health are currently considering the situation, and will make their views known in the near future.

Linda Gilroy

Will my hon. Friend acknowledge that Plymouth has nearly 200 of the 1,000-plus extra doctors in training? We want them to have the research-rich environment that other doctors in training are able to experience.

Mr. Lewis

I acknowledge my hon. Friend's determination to push her case in this debate, and I would expect nothing else of her. HEFCE and the Department of Health will respond in due course, but the Peninsula school is making an important contribution towards our drive to achieve our health service objectives.

It is important to put research funding and knowledge transfer into context. We want a system that encourages excellent teaching and knowledge transfer, as well as excellent research. We know that the funding system over the last few years has distorted priorities, leading too many institutions to feel that they have to pursue research even when that did not reflect their strengths. That often led to unsustainable research being undertaken, as institutions carried out too much research at too low a price, and with too little investment in infrastructure. In some cases, it also led to a relative neglect of teaching.

We want all missions to be valued. We want institutions to concentrate on their strengths, and to deliver on those in a sustainable way. There will never be enough resources to fund everyone to do the research that they want to do. We must therefore find the most effective way of targeting resources. Because of increasing international competition, we need to focus public funding on high quality work: research that is at thy cutting edge globally. We need to encourage and support further improvement in quality.

The White Paper sets out how we will go about that, using three mechanisms. First, we shall focus on the best by providing increased funding to the very best departments and giving extra capital funding to the best institutions. Secondly, we shall provide funding to promising, mid-ranking departments and to emerging research areas. Thirdly, we shall encourage and reward effective collaboration—for example, by linking up pockets of excellence in less research-intensive institutions.

After resources had been devoted to those priority areas, there was a reduction of about 2 per cent. of the total HEFCE research funding in the resources left to fund 4-rated departments. HEFCE therefore decided to remove the residual across-the-board funding from 3a-rated departments. I acknowledge that the University of Plymouth's research funding will be affected by those recent decisions. The university's three 5-rated departments will see an increase in funding. Funding will be cut for its seven 4-rated departments and removed from nine of the 3a-rated departments. However, Plymouth will qualify for HEFCE's new capability development funding, because it has a 3a-rated department in art and design, and a 3b-rated department in nursing—two of the seven "under strength" disciplines identified by HEFCE. A total of £18 million will be available in 2003–04. We intend fully to implement the White Paper proposals over the next two to three years, alongside continuing to increase the funding for research. In this context, HEFCE will be looking at how to implement these policies and, in particular, at how to differentiate and reward promising mid-rated research departments.

My hon. Friend has raised a number of issues relevant to Plymouth. Consequently, I would like to say to her that, if she could put together a delegation from her constituency and from the university, I am sure that the Minister for Lifelong Learning and Higher Education would be more than happy to meet it and to explore some of the implications for Plymouth of the White Paper proposals.

Linda Gilroy

I welcome my hon. Friend's offer, and I am sure we shall want to take advantage of it. Plymouth's track record—its experience of both raising the quality of teaching through research and widening access—suggests that it should be heard when it expresses its fears. I think it still feels that the cuts are a bit like taking the seedcorn away from a football team—removing the lower levels that show promise and, in this case, could make the university one of the best in terms of research. It fears ossification.

Mr. Lewis

As a Manchester City supporter, I like the football analogy, as I am sure any Leeds United supporters would at this time.

As the White Paper explains, we see scope for less research-intensive institutions to concentrate on acquired technology and to work mainly with local companies through consultancy rather than licensing new technology. As for whether a university could transfer technology if it had no research facilities, there are several points to be made. First, there is the question of what we mean by research. The Government are keen to ensure that our basic research is world-class, which requires an increased focus on the very best in the allocation of funds. That does not mean that institutions with little or no HEFCE research funding will do no research; there is still scope for more applied research work supported by business funding, for example. There is also scope for less research-intensive institutions to acquire from elsewhere knowledge that they can then share more widely.

I have acknowledged Plymouth's particularly impressive track record in widening participation. As my hon. Friend has said, this is not just about improving access; it is about ensuring that access leads to hard-edged qualifications that have currency in the labour market. Recognition of the extra costs of supporting students recruited from non-traditional backgrounds—young people who in the past would have been denied a chance to go to university—is reflected in the provision of £265 million for 2003–04 for the specific purpose of widening participation. Central to that recognition is the range of support services that we give all students to ensure not just that they stay in education after the age of 16 and go on to further and higher education, but that they do not drop out later, with all the social and economic consequences that that would entail.

The spending plans in the recent White Paper will reverse decades of underfunding. Between 1989 and 1997, funding per student fell by some 36 per cent. as universities managed to expand by recruiting students at marginal cost. In stark contrast, our planned investment in higher education will mean that by 2005–06 public spending on higher education in England will have reached nearly £10 billion, an average increase of more than 6 per cent. above inflation in each of the next three years; spending per student will have risen by 7 per cent. over and above inflation compared to the comparable figure in 2002–03; and universities will have received a 34 per cent. funding increase over and above inflation compared with the 1997–98 total. Those exceptional increases will cover the short-term needs of the sector, and will help our universities to build on their enviable reputation for international excellence.

I hope my hon. Friend feels that I have addressed the concerns she expressed so eloquently. I have every confidence that Plymouth university will respond positively to our vision of a country in which world-class universities are at the centre not just of our education system but of the social and economic regeneration of our regions and the country as a whole.

Question put and agreed to.

Adjourned accordingly at twenty-six minutes to Nine o'clock.