Clause 23 - Condition that may be required to be imposed by English funding bodies

Part of Higher Education Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 5:45 pm on 26 February 2004.

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Photo of Alan Johnson Alan Johnson Minister of State (Education and Skills) (Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education) 5:45, 26 February 2004

Not just yet.

Dearing has spoken about variability, however. He pointed out to me that his report mentioned variability. He said he did not rule it out, and that the Government may need to consider it, but he attached several conditions. In The Guardian on, I believe, 4 January, he wrote very elegantly about his belief that our proposals were right. He believed that the fee cap of £3,000 was right, but that there should be very serious safeguards against that fee cap being increased, if it had to be increased at all. He suggested that it might never have to be increased. I think that when the Bill is debated in the Lords, Lord Dearing will not only point out that he mentioned variability and did not rule it out, but will say—if he is still of the same mind as when he wrote the article for The Guardian in January—that the proposals are acceptable to him.