By ending the freeze, ministers will ease funding pressures. But student loans need further reform

The announcement that the tuition fees paid by English students (but not Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish ones) are to rise next year is a response to the financial crisis threatening the sector. With about 40% of England’s universities suffering deficits, course closures and a fall in international applications following visa restrictions imposed by the last government, ministers needed to act. Higher education was left out of last week’s budget. But Labour has now accepted the case put by universities that the freeze on fees, which have stayed at £9,250 since 2017, should end.

Fortunately, it has also accepted that the pressure on students is not tenable. Fees for foundation year courses are to be lowered while maintenance loans will rise by just over £400 a year for the poorest students, a change that ministers hope will offset anger at rising fees. With recent figures showing that the proportion of students eligible for free school meals who progressed to university fell in 2022-23, Bridget Phillipson and her colleagues are right to be concerned. Clearly, the trend of widening access cannot be assumed.

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