Tag Archives: independent commission on fees

Why Lib Dems shouldn’t keep schtum about tuition fees

tuition fees vote“University tuition fee rise has not deterred poorer students from applying”. That was the headline in The Guardian this week reporting new analysis by the Independent Commission on Fees chaired by Will Hutton:

The raising of tuition fees to £9,000 has not put off students from disadvantaged backgrounds from applying to university – although the gap in applications between those from wealthy and poor backgrounds remains wide, according to new analysis. …

The commission found that university application rates for 18-year-olds in England have continued to recover from their post-rise lows, with application rates for 2014 entry – including students who will receive their A-level results on Thursday – almost two percentage points higher than in 2010.

While students who are not eligible for free school meals – available for pupils from households earning less than £16,000 – remain more than twice as likely to go to university, the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students has narrowed from 30.5% in 2010 to 29.8% in 2013.

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  • Matt Wardman
    You make important points. Watching both the USA and UK in our current periods of history, it is clear that the USA has some very basic flaws partly as a res...
  • Jeff
    Pawel Urbanski 13th Aug '26 - 10:34am: Hold an appreciating asset, never sell it, borrow against it to live on, pass it down with the gain wiped clea...
  • Ruth Bright
    Vintage Caron - kind, fair, insightful...
  • neil sandison
    @Richard Whelan Totally agree Richard .We need to refresh the party starting at the top . Too many people resting on their laurels since 2024 . time to move on...
  • nigel hunter
    PS-- Farage all over the media.Our 2 council election wins ,no coverage. 'Stiing it ' makes waves. Hence media coverage....