STUDENTS' FEES (Hansard, 24 January 1973)

§ LORD GLADWYN
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

§ THE PARLIAMENTARY UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE (LORD BELSTEAD)
My Lords, my right honourable friend does not fix the fees at universities or establishments of further education. The recurrent grants announced in the recent White Paper, Education: A Framework for Expansion, assumed that the fees for home students at universities will continue to be mostly in the £60 to £90 range in the academic year 1973–74 and that there will continue to be a fee of £250 for all overseas students. Fees for further education courses are fixed by local education authorities at their discretion. In March, 1971, Circular 4/71 asked authorities to review the level of fees with the object of increasing their total income from this source by £3.2 million in the financial year 1971–72 and by £5 million in 1972–73. In the academic year 1971–72 fees for home students were mostly in the £60 to £70 range for full-time advanced 152 courses and in the £30 to £40 range for non-advanced courses. For all overseas students the corresponding fees were £250 and £150. My right honourable friend has no information about authorities' intentions for fees in the academic year 1973–74.

§ LORD GLADWYN
My Lords, in thanking the noble Lord for that reply, in so far as I could understand his rapid reading and follow exactly the implications thereof, I hope that it is satisfactory. May I ask him whether we can have some assurance that Her Majesty's Government will not take any final decision in this matter without proper consultation and that they will not take it arbitrarily or unexpectedly, as they did in the case of the raising of students' fees in 1966–67? May I further ask whether, in order to avoid any possible discrimination between E.E.C. students and overseas students (notably those from developing countries), they are at the moment holding consultations with the authorities concerned in the E.E.C. countries?

§ LORD BELSTEAD
My Lords, I can certainly assure the noble Lord, Lord Gladwyn, that my right honourable friend would not consider making any alterations without prior consultation. I must remind the noble Lord that I have not referred to any of the changes to which the noble Lord himself has referred. As regards the E.E.C., I think, if I may say so, that we have got off to a reasonably promising start. We have offered 50 fellowships to post-graduates from Western European countries, extra funds for improving the links between British and European universities and a doubling of the Western European Scientific Exchange fellowships. I can also assure the noble Lord that my right honourable friend will be looking at further developments with the E.E.C.

§ LORD WYNNE-JONES
My Lords, is it not true, as the noble Lord has just said, that the basic fees of universities are fixed by the universities, but that the differential between the charge to home students and those from overseas was imposed by Government and did not in any sense represent the desire of the universities? In fact I believe that they were strongly opposed to it. Would it not therefore be right and proper for the Government now to take into account 153 the resentment inside universities against this differential, and cease to impose it? This is a Government imposition.

§ LORD BELSTEAD
My Lords, I entirely agree with the noble Lord: it was a Government decision. In case any of your Lordships may have gained the wrong impression, perhaps I may add that the decision was taken in 1967.

§ LORD GARNER
My Lords, may I ask the noble Lord whether he is aware that the appointment of Mr. Anthony Kershaw, whose task it will be to look into the general question of co-ordinating governmental activities, has given rise to very considerable satisfaction among all those who are interested in arrangements for students' welfare? May I ask the noble Lord whether he considers that a complex question of this kind is one that might be looked into by Mr. Kershaw?

§ LORD BELSTEAD
My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Garner. In addition, I think it is right to point out to the noble Lord and others who may be interested that it was the noble Lord, Lord Gladwyn, who also wished to see a development of this sort taking place.