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HEFCE press release

Issued 8 December 1998 for immediate release

NB: Additional links to other related items follow at the end of this release

HEFCE welcomes renewed expansion of higher education

The Council has warmly welcomed the renewed expansion of higher education and support for capital improvements, detailed in the letter from the Secretary of State for Education and Employment announcing funding for higher education in England for 1999-2000 and beyond.

Mr Brian Fender, Chief Executive of the HEFCE, said:

"The settlement will enable universities and colleges in this country to improve their infrastructure and enhance lifelong learning opportunities over the next three years.

"We are particularly pleased by the priority given by the Government to increasing access and promoting quality. The DfEE is giving strong support to Council initiatives in these areas.

"This settlement goes a long way towards meeting the Government’s commitment towards 100,000 additional places in higher education by 2001-02. Many of these students will be part-time and be taking sub-degree courses.

"We shall work closely with higher education institutions and further education colleges to ensure that students receive a high quality education. This task will be greatly assisted by the settlement, which provides funding for additional student numbers at the same level as for existing students.

"We look forward to working with the DfEE and the DTI as well as universities and colleges on the new Higher Education Reach-Out initiative to strengthen links between higher education and business. We see this as the first step towards recognising that working with industry and the communities is a third core activity alongside teaching and research.

"The settlement also represents a particularly good outcome for research, where the £300 million additional capital funding for research infrastructure and equipment has been confirmed."

The Council has welcomed the fact that the Secretary of State has accepted its further advice that public funds currently allocated to Oxford and Cambridge colleges through undergraduate college fees will be transferred to the grant allocated by the HEFCE from 1999-2000. The change will be phased in over 10 years, with modest changes year on year.

ENDS

Additional information

Notes to Editors

  1. The Secretary of State for Education and Employment today announced the resources to be provided for higher education for the financial years 1999-2000 and 2000-01.
  2. The statement confirms the additional £280 million for higher education for 1999-2000 announced under the Government’s comprehensive spending review. There is a further £216 million for higher education for 2000-01 (making a total of £496 million over two years).
  3. Within these amounts £258 million relates to additional resources for activities funded by the Council for 1999-2000 and £211 million represents additional resources for such activities for 2000-2001 (making a total of £469 million over the two years).
  4. The announced levels of funding for 1999-2000 and 2000-01 represent a real terms reduction in the unit of funding of less than 1 per cent a year, compared with 1998-99.
  5. The additional resources include earmarked capital funding for three years. As announced in July, £300 million is being provided over three years to begin to address the past under-investment in the research infrastructure. This is now supplemented by £185 million over three years for capital and IT infrastructure to begin to enhance teaching and support for the knowledge-driven economy.
  6. The renewal of expansion of higher education, with 100,000 additional student numbers by 2001-02, is welcomed. There are 36,000 additional student number places for 1999-2000, of which 20,000 are part-time and 16,000 are full-time. The cumulative additional numbers for 2000-01 (including those for 1999-2000) are 61,000 places, of which 37,000 are part-time and 24,000 full-time. Within these totals the Government’s priority is for expansion of sub-degree courses.
  7. The HEFCE Board will consider today’s funding announcement on 15 December, when it will also consider options for how these funds should be distributed. The decisions reached at that meeting will be announced before Christmas.

HEFCE 15/98

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