Fees funding gap looms for Scottish universities

The increase means English institutions are effectively set to benefit from a cash windfall when the new fees regime is introduced next year, while the funding gap between them and their Scottish counterparts will widen.

Umbrella body Universities Scotland has claimed that the funding gap facing Scotland will be 202 million, but this is based on average fees of about 7,500 south of the Border.

Higher fees in England mean that the shortfall will probably be far higher.

Education secretary Michael Russell has pledged to meet any shortfall from the public purse, but the Scottish Government says this will be as little as 93m.

A report by the Commons public accounts committee today warns: "All the indications are that significantly more institutions will charge significantly higher fees than was anticipated by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills."

The Scottish Conservatives backed some form of fees in Scotland to meet the funding gap, to be paid after the students have finished their course.

Party education spokeswoman Liz Smith said today's report showed that the Scottish Government calculations had been a "very serious" underestimate.

"We know that about 75 per cent of English universities have reported that they plan on charging towards the upper end of the fee scale, suggesting the average fee tag is about 8,500," Ms Smith said.

"Mike Russell has been wrong to base his funding proposals on an average English fee of 7,500 and one which is not linked to inflation.

"It raises yet more questions about where the SNP will get the extra money to plug the gap, which courses will be cut, how many student places will be lost and what other budgets will be cut."Alastair Sim, director of Universities Scotland, said the full scale of the emerging funding gap between Scottish and English universities was still not known.

"The picture will become clearer once we see the final level of fees which are approved in mid-July and the UK government's response," he said.

"We are working closely with the Scottish Government as the situation evolves and we draw confidence from the First Minister's pledge to meet any funding gap and from the Scottish Government's commitment to keep Scotland's universities internationally competitive and truly excellent in world terms."

The 9,000 maximum fees in England - three times the current level - will come into effect in August next year.

But Mr Russell said: "We fully intend to meet the funding commitments we made to the sector in our manifesto.

"The Scottish Government will continue to work with universities to maintain and enhance the excellence of Scottish higher education while ensuring that access remains free."

The Commons report warns of "a substantial funding gap" for English universities, which may lead to cuts in higher education or need more taxpayer cash as the Office for Fair Access tries to encourage students from poor backgrounds to apply for courses.

The committee's chairwoman, Labour MP Margaret Hodge said: "Unprecedented change is about to take place in the higher education sector as it moves towards a system in which funding for teaching follows the student."