Review of Student Fees

Employment And Learning – in the Northern Ireland Assembly at 3:15 pm on 19 January 2009.

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Photo of Robin Newton Robin Newton DUP 3:15, 19 January 2009

4. asked the Minister for Employment and Learning when he expects to publish his report on the review of student fees.            (AQO 1679/09)

Photo of Reg Empey Reg Empey UUP

The review of variable fees and student-support arrangements is under way. Northern Ireland is the first area of the United Kingdom to undertake such a review. I will ensure that the Committee for Employment and Learning is updated on a quarterly basis and at key milestones during the progress of the review. I anticipate issuing a document for public consultation in the autumn of this year.

Photo of Robin Newton Robin Newton DUP

That was not the question that I asked. The question that I asked was when the Minister expected to publish his report on the review of student fees. My understanding is that that will not be until March 2010.

Photo of David McNarry David McNarry UUP

Why did the Member ask the question if he knew the answer?

Photo of Robin Newton Robin Newton DUP

That will all become clear. In December 2007, the Minister pleaded with the Assembly to give him 12 months to complete his report. According to the Hansard report, his actual words were:

“for the sake of a year.” — [Official Report, Vol 26, No 2, p88, col 1].

If I am correct that the report will not be published until March 2010 at the earliest, was that not an irresponsible approach that misled this House?

Photo of Reg Empey Reg Empey UUP

If the Member cares to read the Hansard report, he will know that I repeatedly said that we would conduct a review in academic year 2008-09. That is precisely what we are doing — in fact, we announced that review before Christmas.

A lot of work has been going on: a team has been established; a chairperson has been appointed; people have been appointed to sit on the group; and an Economic and Social Research Council fellow is in position to consider the data.

The Member knows that we must have enough robust statistical evidence to make a case, because if the review were to conclude that we should replace or do away with student fees, we would be talking about huge sums of money — approximately £100 million. Therefore, if one is to approach the Department of Finance and Personnel, or anybody else, with such a bill, robust statistics — and not a lot of waffle — are required, and such statistics can be obtained only by means of a sufficiently significant data sample.

In answer to questions, letters and debates in the House, I repeatedly said that the review would commence in the 2008-09 academic year, and that is exactly what happened.

Photo of Sue Ramsey Sue Ramsey Sinn Féin

Go raibh maith agat. Further to the Deputy Chairperson of the Committee for Employment and Learning’s question, bearing in mind the figures highlighted by the Minister for years 1 and 2, the fact that he must await figures for year 3 in order to bring a case to the Department of Finance and Personnel, and given that Basil McCrea said that Sir Reg Empey is one of the most popular Ministers, will he make a popular decision? Is he minded to go to his Executive colleagues with proposals to do away with student fees?

Photo of Reg Empey Reg Empey UUP

If I were minded to do that, why would I go to the bother of instigating a review process in the first place? Perhaps the Member will indicate in advance which of her party’s Ministers would give me the money, because, if the money must come from the total pot, it must come from their pockets, as well as those of other Ministers. We have appointed an independent review in good faith, and the Committee will be updated on its progress at least quarterly, or when any other milestones are reached. There is no point in appointing a review committee if one has already made up one’s mind about what to do.

Photo of Tom Elliott Tom Elliott UUP

Perhaps the Minister should have said “in a political lifetime”, which seems to be an acceptable timescale. Will the Minister confirm that student fees are means-tested and that, consequently, the majority of Northern Ireland students do not pay them?

Photo of Reg Empey Reg Empey UUP

The Member is correct. My Department’s policy of maintaining a differential to the maintenance grant was introduced by my predecessor Seán Farren — or perhaps it was Mrs Hanna. We have consistently done that, and currently pay the highest grant.

In conjunction with other university programmes funded by the Department, the policy has been successful in assisting more people from disadvantaged backgrounds to become students. It has been successful because we have worked at it. In fact, in Northern Ireland, the British Government’s targets for encouraging people from disadvantaged backgrounds to get involved in higher education have long been exceeded, and that is something to be proud of.

Most, if not all, parties represented in the Chamber were hostile to the idea of introducing fees, and, in the present circumstances, any debt or bill that people must face represents a huge challenge. Nevertheless, now that the review is under way and people are in place to examine the situation, we must take all circumstances into account before reaching a decision, and I hope that, when I receive the report, assuming that the Executive is still meeting, there will be something for them to discuss.

Photo of John Dallat John Dallat Social Democratic and Labour Party

I can assure the Minister that I do not know the answer to my question. [Laughter.]

I agree with Mr Elliott’s comments that the Minister has been proactive on further and higher education. I am sure that the Minister will agree that many good plans that are made today will be history by the time the report is published. Is the Minister of a mind to monitor any potential drop-off in the number of students from lower economic backgrounds? Will he advocate access funds for those students to the colleges should the recession bite even harder than it is currently biting?