Lib Dem spokeswoman says bill ‘not fit for purpose’ and Lords vote will help ensure independence of universities

Peers have defeated controversial government reforms of higher education that would have made it easier for new profit-making colleges to award degrees and become universities.

Labour, Liberal Democrat and crossbench peers in the House of Lords passed an amendment to scupper reforms to the higher education and research bill by 248 votes to 221, voicing fears that they would unacceptably commercialise the sector by allowing private colleges to profit from awarding degrees.

Ministers argued that the bill would raise standards by increasing competition, by “making it easier for new high-quality providers to start up and achieve degree-awarding powers, and subsequently secure university status”.

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Led by Wilf Stevenson of Labour, peers tabled amendments demanding universities are barred from seeking profit and remain autonomous bodies, with entrenched academic and political freedom, forcing a rare committee-stage vote. The amendment passed by peers would effectively limit the powers of the new providers that the government had intended to create. More than 500 in total were tabled.

“The purpose of our amendment is simple: the bill does not define a university and we think it is important that it does,” Lord Stevenson wrote. “We do not simply itemise some core functions of a university but also scope out the role, with implicit ideals of responsibility, engagement and public service.”

University leaders had warned that the bill gave the newly created Office of Students the power to revoke acts of parliament or royal charters that led to the creation of universities, including historic institutions like Oxford and Cambridge.

The changes in the government bill were described by Oxford University chancellor Chris Patten, the former Conservative party chair, as “ham-fisted” in an article for the Observer. “How can it be right to allow institutions, some of very ancient standing, to be abolished with only weak parliamentary scrutiny?” he wrote. “Did Thomas Cromwell write this part of the bill?”

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Sue Garden, the Liberal Democrat higher education spokeswoman in the Lords, said the bill was “not fit for purpose” and unnecessary when universities were already steeling themselves for pressures on their funding and student numbers after the vote to leave the European Union.



“With this vote today we have taken a step to ensure the independence of universities, free from the political interference of this and future governments,” Garden said.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We want more young people to have the opportunity to access a high-quality university education, and the measures proposed in the higher education and research bill are critical to making this possible.

“This bill will drive up the standard of teaching at universities, deliver greater competition and choice for students, while safeguarding institutional autonomy and academic freedom. While today’s result is disappointing, the parliamentary process is ongoing and we look forward to the next stage of the bill process.”