§ 10. Mr. Michael Connarty (Falkirk, East) (Lab)What percentage of young people from England and Wales gained entrance to courses at the Russell Group of universities in 2003.[147875]
§ Mr. Graham Allen (Nottingham, North) (Lab)Come in No. 10.
§ The Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education (Alan Johnson)Your time is up. [Laughter.]
In 2003, 6 per cent. of the 18-year-old population gained entry to full-time undergraduate courses in Russell Group universities. We want the best young people, whatever their social background, to apply to the top universities and we are encouraging all universities to reach out and find talented young people from all backgrounds who have the potential to benefit from higher education.
§ Mr. ConnartyI am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that reply. He knows that I told his Parliamentary Private Secretary that I have been speaking to vice-chancellors from Russell Group universities—though not Oxford or Cambridge, I might add. They told me 955 that they would charge£3,000 for every course at their universities and also told me that they would support a fixed universal graduate repayment scheme, if it were proposed, but that they had been told that they must support the Government's variable scheme or get nothing. Surely my right hon. Friend sees the merit in further exploring a fixed graduate repayment scheme, which would stop misleading students about what it would cost them to attend university courses and stop the Government bullying the universities. It might even save the seats of several Labour Members at the next election.
§ Alan JohnsonI should tell my hon. Friend, who is a friend of long standing, that I simply do not understand that argument. According to it, were we to fix the fee at £2,500—the accepted figure in terms of bringing in the same amount of revenue—all our problems would dissolve overnight. The idea is that poorer youngsters would be put off by £3,000, but not by £2,500. The simple fact is that none of the Russell Group universities will be able to charge anything above £1,125, which is the current standard fee, unless they satisfy the access regulator that they are doing everything they possibly can to encourage youngsters from non-traditional backgrounds—to use the jargon—to come to their university. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said, Cambridge has already responded with an incredible £4,000 per year grant for youngsters whose families have an income of up to £31,000 a year. That is on top of the £2,700 we are providing centrally.
This is an opportunity at last to close the social class gap that actually widened when higher education was free, through generous maintenance grants. So I do not understand the philosophy behind the fixed versus variable argument.
§ Dr. Vincent Cable (Twickenham) (LD)If we are to accept the Government's premise that graduates, particularly from prestigious universities, should pay back more to society for their university education, why should that principle apply only to new graduates? Why should it not also apply to former, high-earning graduates, particularly those earning more than £100,000 a year? Almost 90 per cent. of such high-earners are graduates, who acquired their degrees in the days when they were more exclusive and more financially remunerative.
§ Alan JohnsonI refer the hon. Gentleman to the Dearing report—a national committee of inquiry that was comprehensive, greatly appreciated at the time, and supported by Members on both sides of the House. Dearing set out six arguments as to why a graduate contribution scheme, which is what we are suggesting, is superior to a graduate tax, not least because he foresaw the difficulty of applying legislation retrospectively. However, he did point out that we need a culture in which individuals who have benefited from higher education are more willing to put money back in, in endowments and other forms. So I invite any Member of this House who feels a sense of guilt at not having paid enough for their university education to send their former university money. That would be very much appreciated.