You are in :
  • News
    • > 2005
      • > Letter from David Young to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills

22 June 2005

Mr David Young
Chairman
Higher Education Funding Council for England
Northavon House
Coldharbour Lane
Bristol
BS16 1QD

Rt Hon Ruth Kelly MP
Secretary of State for Education and Skills
Department for Education and Skills
Sanctuary Buildings
Great Smith Street
London SW1P 3BT

Request for Funding Council Advice

Charles Clarke wrote to me on 1 December 2004, asking for the Funding Council's advice on a number of issues. I am pleased to let you have this response which on some of the issues is an interim reply.

Strategically Important and Vulnerable Subjects

We were asked whether there are any higher education subjects or courses that are of national strategic importance where intervention might be appropriate to enable them to be sustained, and the types of intervention which should be considered.

My Board advises that we have a healthy and vibrant higher education system in this country. As the Science and Technology Select Committee has stated, it would be exaggerating to say that university science departments are in crisis. Nevertheless, there are risks and opportunities in the future that need a response. That response must be proportionate, targeted and effective. The dynamism of the English HE sector is a great strength, and interventions should, as a rule, be kept to a minimum.

However, we recognise the need to initiate a series of focused activities. My Board, informed by the discussion of an advisory group chaired by Sir Gareth Roberts, consider that there are certain subjects which are both strategically important and vulnerable. Such vulnerability can be generated by either a mismatch between supply and demand, or by a concentration of the subject in institutions which may be vulnerable to change (such as monotechnics).

There is a range of approaches which HEFCE will take, according to the nature of the mismatch between supply and demand for each subject. These will be deployed within a clear framework, in partnership with others and only where there is evidence to warrant intervention. Therefore, we will:

  • take a more proactive change management role, for example, encouraging collaboration; encouraging early conversations with HEFCE where strategic and vulnerable subjects are at risk, which may enable the transfer of provision
  • ensure that one or more national centres remain for certain strategically important and vulnerable subjects where national capacity is deemed necessary and enabling reviews of the sector in a very small number of subjects (such as land-based studies)
  • build on our involvement with the Royal Society for Chemistry and continue and enhance our efforts to support others who are trying to increase informed demand from potential students particularly in respect of Modern Languages, Science, Technological, Engineering and Mathematical subjects
  • continue and enhance our efforts to ensure that employer demand is appropriately fed into the system, particularly through Sector Skills Councils and Regional Development Agencies.

HEFCE cannot and should not attempt to prescribe where subjects should be provided, or to interfere in proper institutional decisions about their strategic direction.

I commend to you the advisory group's full report, which is enclosed. We intend to progress this work in partnership with the sector, and are currently formulating a programme which will set out a timetable, evaluation strategy and communications approach that will ensure all our partners can share in the opportunities that this programme will offer. This programme is likely to require a significant level of engagement with a wide range of stakeholders and will almost certainly need a significant level of investment both in terms of running and programme costs.

Other Matters

We were also asked to comment on research collaboration, HE and skills, flexible provision and a National Credit Framework. Detailed responses are set out at Annex A but in summary:

  • Research collaboration - we have established a means to ensure that the 2008 RAE will encourage collaborative research
  • HE and Skills - we have already made an important start in this area by means of our managed growth of student numbers and our engagement with various partners such at the SSCs, RSPs and working with your officials on Skills Academies
  • Flexible based learning - later in the year we will bring forward a strategy of flexible learning informed by research and funded pathfinder projects
  • National Credit Framework - we expect to consult with the sector in the Autumn and are actively discussing how we can integrate our work with that of the LSC and QCA.

Council staff would, of course, be happy to elaborate further on this advice.

This advice is not yet public, but will be published on 28 June, when we are holding a press conference on strategically important and vulnerable subjects. We will also publish the Advisory Group's report at that time.

I am copying this letter to the Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education: Bill Rammell MP.

Yours sincerely

 

David Young
Chairman

Annex A - Detailed Response on Other Matters Raised in Secretary of State's Letter
[ MS Word 37K | Zipped Word 10K | Adobe PDF 47K | Zipped PDF 43K ]