Results 1-20 of 56 for ("top up" fees) speaker:Phil Willis

Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation (21 Mar 2005)

Mr Phil Willis: ...to several elements of Government policy that move us in the opposite direction. The recent publishing by the Office for Fair Access of the universities that are to charge so-called differential fees reveals that the full £3,000 top-up fee will be charged for 91 per cent. of courses. I do not believe that that is a differential. That means that there is a new flat-rate fee of...

Higher Education (14 Sep 2004)

Mr Phil Willis: ...go on to higher education in a city that offers the widest range of higher education institutions, we are seeing such an alarming drop. For Ministers to say that that is nothing to do with tuition fees and top-up fees is fatuous. The Liberal Democrats consistently argued that tuition fees and top-up fees would be a significant disincentive to potential students, particularly those from...

Higher Education (14 Sep 2004)

Mr Phil Willis: The hon. Lady is right that we have debated these issues regularly. Does she think that adding a £3,000 a year top-up fee creates a fair access policy? I do not care how much is given at the other end. If £3,000 is charged up front, my goodness, let us not pretend that students are getting a different, better provision.

Higher Education (14 Sep 2004)

Mr Phil Willis: ...added to their account. Whether it is paid on the first day, or at the end of three years, when the debt is £9,000, is irrelevant. Let us remember that a Labour Government in 1998 introduced tuition fees, having said that they would not do so in their 1997 manifesto, and a Labour Government introduced top-up fees, having said that they would not do so, and having legislated against it...

Higher Education (14 Sep 2004)

Mr Phil Willis: ...was elected on the basis of a pledge that we believed in social justice—that we actually believed in what we said in our manifesto—that we wanted to see students from lower social groups gain access to university, and wanted to see those with the necessary qualifications and ability go there. That is what we stand for. What we do not stand for is telling those students after...

Higher Education (14 Sep 2004)

Mr Phil Willis: ...further education sector and e-learning. We as a party have set out our proposals and said how we will pay for them. Under our proposals, no students would end their university days with debts for fees and top-up fees. Next year the electorate will have a decision to make—whether to support two parties that have put our students into debt, or a party that wants to invest in them.

Orders of the Day — Higher Education Bill: Clause 23 — Duty of Secretary of State to Impose Condition as to Student Fees, etc (23 Jun 2004)

Mr Phil Willis: ...: either through the Higher Education Funding Council or by the universities themselves. Throughout the passage of the Bill, the Government have continually claimed that the introduction of differential or top-up fees will give universities the flexibility to be able to meet their differing circumstances. The Secretary of State, who is now in his place, said when the White Paper was issued...

Orders of the Day — Higher Education Bill: Clause 23 — Duty of Secretary of State to Impose Condition as to Student Fees, etc (23 Jun 2004)

Mr Phil Willis: ..., and throughout Second Reading in the other place, its Committee stage, Report and Third Reading, the Conservative party never once said how it would fund the proposals to get rid of tuition fees and top-up fees and to sustain the level of spending predicted by this Government. We now hear that the right hon. and learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Howard) will follow Labour's...

Higher Education Bill: New Clause 5 — Abolition of tuition fees chargeable to qualifying student (31 Mar 2004)

Mr Phil Willis: ...the two best-endowed universities in the world—not just in America—achieve through all their glorious endowments and bursaries 4.7 per cent. of students from the lower socio-economic groups in the United States. If that is the vision for the United Kingdom's higher education system, there is no point any of us being here, because it is a travesty in terms of ambition. I want...

Higher Education Bill: New Clause 5 — Abolition of tuition fees chargeable to qualifying student (31 Mar 2004)

Mr Phil Willis: I want to finish my speech, as many other Members wish to speak. We support the removal of fees and top-up fees, as an issue not of popular politics but of principle. We opposed the introduction of tuition fees in 1997 and 1998, and we stated in our 1997 manifesto that we opposed both top-up and tuition fees. I have here a copy of the Labour party manifesto, entitled "Ambitions for Britain"....

Higher Education Bill: New Clause 5 — Abolition of tuition fees chargeable to qualifying student (31 Mar 2004)

Mr Phil Willis: ...the hon. Gentleman gets excited, I have always conceded that the Government assist in many of those areas, but that is not the point of my argument. My point is that after the Bill is enacted, top-up fees will result in significant debt from 2006 onwards, which will be a whole new ball game. We should not cherry-pick the way in which we support people who take certain subjects—

Higher Education Bill: New Clause 5 — Abolition of tuition fees chargeable to qualifying student (31 Mar 2004)

Mr Phil Willis: ...per cent. of disposable income payable and the interest on any remaining debt is paid for by the state, and if that person leaves the profession after two years, as they are entitled to, they pick up the costs. I hope that hon. Members will see that as a simple and positive mechanism for supporting public sector workers. I intend to press new clause 12 to a vote. I turn to new clause 8 and...

Higher Education Bill: New Clause 5 — Abolition of tuition fees chargeable to qualifying student (31 Mar 2004)

Mr Phil Willis: ...that the £2,700 plus the £300 bursary has to be repaid. I do not believe that any hon. Member has ever heard me say that. However, students will have to repay the loan of £3,500 plus the tuition fee of £3,000. That makes £6,500 every year. So much for generous grants. Amendment No. 122 tabled by the hon. Member for Hemsworth (Jon Trickett) hits the nail on the...

Higher Education Bill: New Clause 5 — Abolition of tuition fees chargeable to qualifying student (31 Mar 2004)

Mr Phil Willis: It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Norwich, North (Dr. Gibson). I wish to speak to a series of amendments. In particular, new clause 8 would remove all fees in exactly the same way as new clause 5, which the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Mr. Collins) tabled. New clause 9 is consequential on new clause 8 and would remove fees in Wales. Amendments Nos. 53 to 58 and 71...

Public Bill Committee: Higher Education Bill: Clause 39 - Effect of bankruptcy (9 Mar 2004)

Mr Phil Willis: A discharged bankrupt can become an MP, but, as always, the hon. Gentleman makes a serious point, and we may return to it. There is a pragmatic issue to address, but there is also a fundamental principle. In 2002, following the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998, the Insolvency Service considered whether students should be allowed to file for bankruptcy. It decided that students should...

Public Bill Committee: Higher Education Bill: Clause 23 - Condition that may be required to be imposed by English funding bodies (2 Mar 2004)

Mr Phil Willis: ...am not suggesting that. I am, however, suggesting that the Minister inadvertently misunderstood our position. Let me clarify two things. The first is that the amendment would remove the element of fees that would be paid by the student—it is not £800 million; it is roughly £450 million at present—but it would not remove the Government subsidy that goes towards the...

Public Bill Committee: Higher Education Bill: Clause 23 - Condition that may be required to be imposed by English funding bodies (2 Mar 2004)

Mr Phil Willis: Perhaps it is just terminology, but throughout his contribution, the hon. Gentleman has talked only about top-up fees. The amendment would get rid of all fees, including the basic fee. Is that the hon. Gentleman's understanding of the amendments? Does he support getting rid of the top-up fee and the basic fee?

Public Bill Committee: Higher Education Bill: Clause 23 - Condition that may be required to be imposed by English funding bodies (26 Feb 2004)

Mr Phil Willis: ...change by sending students from our poorest communities, such as Nottingham North, down from university with debts of £19,650, I rest my case: it is a bad policy. I hope that the Committee will support this amendment, and take it to the Floor of the House, because the whole House should decide whether variability and top-up fees will be at the heart of our higher education system in...

Public Bill Committee: Higher Education Bill: Clause 23 - Condition that may be required to be imposed by English funding bodies (26 Feb 2004)

Mr Phil Willis: ...point is that the Minister and the Secretary of State often pray in aid the Dearing report, and they choose selectively from that 1997 report. Where, in that report, did Lord Dearing recommend top-up fees or variable fees as part of the solution for higher education? Where, in the Cubie commission in Scotland or the Rees commission in Wales, was the principle of variable fees suggested as...

Public Bill Committee: Higher Education Bill: Clause 23 - Condition that may be required to be imposed by English funding bodies (26 Feb 2004)

Mr Phil Willis: ...the country—not just the elite ones—are doing to widen access. The fact that 47 per cent. of students at the university of Wolverhampton come from the three lowest socio- economic groups is an example of a university that is doing what the Government want it to do. I take my hat off to it. However, in response to amendment No. 82 and the issue of variability, we must consider...