Treasury will ‘never allow’ Theresa May’s tuition fee cuts The Treasury will “never allow” Theresa May‘s proposals to cut university tuition fees in arts and humanities courses as it […]

The Treasury will “never allow” Theresa May‘s proposals to cut university tuition fees in arts and humanities courses as it will be too great a burden on the taxpayer, according to sources.

The Prime Minister yesterday launched a major review on the post-18 education system, which she said would “look at the whole question of how students and graduates contribute” to their studies.

“Our goal is a funding system, which provides value for money for graduates and taxpayers, so the principle that students as well as taxpayers should contribute to the cost of their studies is an important one,” Mrs May said in a speech at Derby College.

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Less expensive fees

Education Secretary Damian Hinds has said that among the options being considered is a cut in tuition fees for “less expensive” courses, such as arts and humanities degrees. It has been suggested that such courses could be cut to £6,000 a year.

Mrs May has come in for serious criticism for raising the prospect of cutting fees from figures within her own party. Two former Tory Education Secretaries Justine Greening and Nicky Morgan have both warned it will hit efforts to improve social mobility.

But according to sources, officials within the Treasury will be opposed to the idea of the taxpayer footing more of the bill.

“The Treasury is 100 per cent not going to allow cheaper arts degrees, even if for the moment it pretends it is,” a well-placed source said. “One of the ways the system funds itself is subsidising Stem [science, technology, engineering and maths] degrees through the arts.”

Downing Street has committed to freezing tuition fees at £9,250 a year, but some science and engineering degrees cost well in excess of this to run. Most universities use the tuition fee money from the lower cost courses, such as the arts, to make up the difference.

The government’s own terms of reference for the review, which will be led by the former City financier Philip Augur, revealed that the Treasury was unlikely to give up additional cash for fee cuts.

According to the terms, the year-long review would not be able to make recommendations linked to taxation and “must be consistent with the government’s fiscal policies to reduce the deficit and have debt falling as a percentage of GDP”.

One former government source added that the decision by Number 10 to overhaul tuition fees was “purely political”.

“Before the general election tuition fees were a complete non-issue,” the source said. “There was zero appetite within Government to open this up. [Mrs May’s former chief of staff] Nick Timothy never once raised the issue of tuition fees with the Department for Education before the election.”

Labour’s decision to pledge it would scrap tuition fees meant the policy became a major battleground leading to students to vote for the party in their droves.

According to estimates by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), the average student can now leave university owing more than £50,000.

Long-winded review

Speaking on Monday as she announced the year-long review, Mrs May said: “We must have an education system at all levels which serves the needs of every child.

“And if we consider the experience which many young people have of our system as it is, it is clear that we do not have such a system today.”

Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said: “This long-winded review is an unnecessary waste of time. Labour will abolish tuition fees, bring back maintenance grants and provide free, lifelong education in further education colleges.”