Universities UK responds to the Government’s Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy

Today's white paper offers a much-needed reset for our university system. It makes clear that universities are a huge national asset, rightly admired around the world. We need them to be in great shape if we want national renewal. 

“The Government has ambitions for our universities to make a stronger contribution to economic growth and individual opportunity, and we share that ambition. It also recognises the financial challenges which are putting pressure on that strength. The decision to raise undergraduate fees in line with inflation in England will help to halt the long-term erosion of universities’ financial sustainability, following a decade of fee freezes.

“A weight of evidence shows the UK will need more high-level skills in the future, and many of these proposals will help universities to turbocharge growth and opportunity, as part of a broader skills system.

“We strongly support the emphasis on collaboration in the national interest, which we have promoted in our own Blueprint and more recently through our Transformation and Efficiency Taskforce. 

“This opportunity to reset is about focusing on what is best for the country, not just for individuals. Universities are up for this change. They want to work more closely, instead of purely in competition with one another. Higher and further education, with government, can build a more collaborative and sustainable future with universities at the heart of national renewal.