The administration of Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the United Kingdom will raise university tuition fees for the first time in eight years.
According to a report by The Telegraph, the fee increase is expected to be put in place for September 2025, meaning that current A Level students will face paying more to go to university.
Tuition fees have remained frozen at £9,250 since 2017. It is unclear which month’s inflation figures Labour will choose to link fees to, but matching them to the current rate of 2.7 per cent would see fees rise to about £9,500 from next year.
Previous reports suggested that the Government would raise tuition fees to £10,500 over the next five years. The Telegraph understands that ministers do not want to commit to any uplift beyond the next academic year as they consider complete reform of the current system.
The move follows growing concerns that many institutions are now facing a financial crisis, with 40 per cent of English universities expecting to slump into a deficit this year.
The Coalition government tripled tuition fees to £9,000 in 2012. Fees only increased after that to hit £9,250 in 2017, where they remain frozen today despite soaring inflation over the past few years.
The Russell Group of elite universities has argued that the cap on tuition fees means they are now making a loss of about £4,000 per UK student.
University finances have also suffered from a dramatic drop in lucrative international students following a Tory crackdown on dependent visas.
Home Office figures showed 16 per cent fewer visa applications were made between July and September than in the same period in 2023.
Foreign students, who typically pay triple or even quadruple domestic students, had been largely propping up the sector. A sudden fall in numbers has removed a crucial lifeline for universities and amplified calls for immediate action from the new Government.