§ 17. Mr. WoodwardTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of(a) flat rate and (b) variable university tuition fees, with particular reference to equity of access. [141773]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeFlat rate fees force all students to pay the same fee, regardless of the quality of their course, the demand for it, and the return they get from it. Fixed fees mean that there would be no Office for Fair Access, no progress on widening access and no bursaries for poorer students; and they continue to subsidise rich students at the expense of poorer ones. Flat fees would also require universities to charge the required amount even where they wished to offer a course at a lower charge. Variable fees suffer none of these drawbacks: they are fairer than flat rate fees.