Clause 22 - Power of Secretary of State to impose condition as to student fees, etc.
Higher Education Bill
3:30 pm
Mr Chris Grayling (Epsom and Ewell, Conservative)
Which is OFFA. To date, the imposition of a fine or the withholding of a payment or a loan might have related to a failure of governance within a university, or perhaps to a failure to maintain proper academic standards—effectively a neutral regulatory issue, as opposed to one of political interference, which this measure represents. Now, a power that has been appropriate to put pressure on the governing body of a university to deal with its governance issue has become a political football. That is why I have profound concerns about the ability of the Secretary of State—