David Willetts

Commenting on the Government’s response to the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee’s report into the withdrawal of funding equivalent or lower qualifications (ELQs), David Willetts, Shadow Secretary of State for Innovations, Universities and Skills, said:

“The Government’s response is unimaginative, disingenuous and petty. The Select Committee conducted a thorough evidence-based review that ministers should have taken seriously.

“Hundreds of thousands of mature learners are the losers today. It is a kick in the teeth to some of our best universities, like the Open University and Birkbeck, which do so much to extend access to higher education.

“Ministers must reconsider their hasty and ill-thought out policy.”

Notes to Editors:

1. The Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills announced in September 2007 that he was ‘asking the Funding Council to phase out the support it gives to institutions for equivalent or lower qualification (ELQ) students, starting from academic year 2008/09. I would like to see the support reduced by around £100 million a year by 2010/11′ (Letter from John Denham to David Young, chairman of HEFCE). This announcement came out of the blue - there was no prior consultation with the higher education sector.

2. The document published today is the Government’s response to the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee’s Third Report, published in March 2008. The Committee’s report was highly critical of the Government’s plans: ‘we cannot support the decision to cut funding to ELQ students in this way’ (IUSS Committee, Third Report, 27 March 2008)

3. ELQ key facts:

• 20 per cent of part-time students in England will become unfunded from 2008/09 (and 2% of full-time) (Hefce)
• 25 per cent of the Open University’s students in England and NI will become unfunded and £31.6m or 19 per cent of OU teaching funding will be phased out (Open University, Consultation Response)
• One-third of Birkbeck students are ELQ students and the college stands to lose £7.8m (Guardian, 17 Jan 2008)
• The School of Pharmacy, Univeristy of London, could lose 15 per cent of its teaching income (Council of Univeristy Heads of Pharmacy, Consultation response).
• Ranked by size of the financial loss, 8 of the top 10 institutions are in London (London Higher).

Despite massive opposition from the sector, and contrary to the advice of the Select Committee, the Government is unrepentant. The Committee has added an Annex to the Government’s response, which says they are ‘uneasy about the tone’ and that the Government has ‘sought to bolster its position with an erroneous construction of the Committee’s position.’