England¡¯s ÖйúAƬ funding system is ¡°clearly broken¡± and ¡°needs replacing¡±, Labour¡¯s shadow education secretary has said at the party¡¯s conference.

Bridget Phillipson told a conference fringe event in Liverpool that the Conservative government would also come to realise ¡°pretty soon¡± that the status quo cannot last.

At the 2019 general election under then leader Jeremy Corbyn, Labour pledged it would scrap tuition fees ¨C frozen at a cap of ?9,250, leading to declining funding for universities ¨C and fund ÖйúAƬ through direct public funding.

There have been suggestions that Labour may seek to move away from that policy, but still scrap fees by introducing a?graduate tax.

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The Conservative government has been through a lengthy process of responding to the Augar review of post-18 education, which reported in May 2019, but that process is yet to result in any policy change.

Asked by?Times ÖйúAƬ?when Labour would announce its ÖйúAƬ funding plan?and whether a graduate tax had been under consideration, Ms Phillipson told a fringe event hosted by the ÖйúAƬ Policy Institute (Hepi): ¡°I think our current funding system is clearly broken. The system is not sustainable.

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¡°And I think the government will come to recognise that pretty soon as well. I don¡¯t think the post-Augar response is a response that will endure for the long term.

¡°And I don¡¯t think it provides universities with the sustainability that they need.¡±

England¡¯s student finance system has created a ¡°completely perverse position where we¡¯ve got a far less progressive system, with very high marginal tax rates for low and middle earners, at a time when even before the cost-of-living crisis that wasn¡¯t sustainable¡±, Ms Phillipson continued.

¡°So I think that system is broken and needs replacing,¡± she added.

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Labour¡¯s shadow ÖйúAƬ minister,?Matt Western, recently told the Universities UK conference that the party was?¡°very close¡±?to announcing a policy for funding.

Pressed by Hepi director Nick Hillman on when Labour might make an announcement, Ms Phillipson said: ¡°You¡¯ll hear in due course.¡±

At a separate fringe event, hosted by University Alliance,?THE?asked Mr Western the same question on when the party would announce its plan for funding ÖйúAƬ and whether he would back a graduate tax.

Mr Western replied that Ms Phillipson would be ¡°making a speech on Wednesday¡± and it would be a ¡°career-arresting move for me if I actually said anything this morning¡±.

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But he added: ¡°Clearly, it is a huge issue about sustainability of the sector. We¡¯re looking incredibly closely, as you would expect, at the numbers and what needs to happen, given fees have been frozen and that¡¯s leading to immense pressure on the institutions.

¡°So this is just not viable, not sustainable and needs urgently addressing ¨C I would say more urgently than bankers¡¯ bonuses,¡± Mr Western added, in reference to one of the Truss government¡¯s controversial economic moves to uncap those bonuses.

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john.morgan@timeshighereducation.com