Lifelong Learning (Higher Education Fee Limits) Bill: call for evidence
2 March 2023
Do you have relevant expertise and experience or a special interest in the Lifelong Learning (Higher Education Fee Limits) Bill, which is currently passing through Parliament?
If so, you can submit your views in writing to the House of Commons Public Bill Committee which is going to consider this Bill.
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The Public Bill Committee is now able to receive written evidence. The sooner you send in your submission, the more time the Committee will have to take it into consideration. The Public Bill Committee will scrutinise the Bill line by line. The first sitting of the Public Bill Committee is expected to be on Tuesday 21 March and the Committee is scheduled to report by Tuesday 28 March. However, please note that when the Committee concludes its consideration of the Bill it is no longer able to receive written evidence and it can conclude earlier than the expected deadline of 5.00pm on Tuesday 28 March. You are strongly advised to submit your written evidence as soon as possible. |
Aims of the Bill
The Bill would introduce a new ‘credit-based method’ to set tuition fee levels for higher education courses and modules. The Bill would also create the new concept of ‘course years’, which would be the period of twelve months from the first day of the month in which the course begins, to replace that of ‘academic years’.
Credits are a measure of the amount of learning a student is expected to do to complete a programme of study. One credit is generally equal to ten hours of learning. Learning includes formal classes, private study, and the completion of coursework and exams.
In conjunction with the forthcoming Lifelong Loan Entitlement, the Government hopes the new method will encourage the study of modules and short courses, by ensuring the maximum level of tuition fees students pay for such courses are proportionate and consistent with traditional three-year degree courses.
The Bill comprises two substantive clauses that would primarily amend Sections 10, 11, 31, and Schedule 2 of the Higher Education Research Act 2017, as well as giving Ministers powers to make regulations setting out the detail for how the Bill’s provisions would work in practice.
Follow the progress of the Lifelong Learning (Higher Education Fee Limits) Bill
The Lifelong Learning (Higher Education Fee Limits) Bill was presented to the House of Commons for its first reading on Wednesday 1 February 2023. The second reading debate was held on Monday 27 February.
- Bills before Parliament: Lifelong Learning (Higher Education Fee Limits) Bill
- Read Explanatory Notes: Lifelong Learning (Higher Education Fee Limits) Bill
- House of Commons Library Briefing Paper
Oral evidence sessions are expected to be held on Tuesday 21 March.
Guidance on submitting written evidence
Deadline for written evidence submissions
The Public Bill Committee is now able to receive written evidence. The sooner you send in your submission, the more time the Committee will have to take it into consideration and possibly reflect it in an amendment. The order in which amendments are taken in Committee will be available in due course under Selection of Amendments on the Bill documents pages. Once the Committee has dealt with an amendment it will not revisit it.
The first sitting of the Public Bill Committee is expected to be on Tuesday 21 March and the Committee is scheduled to report by Tuesday 28 March. However, please note that when the Committee concludes its consideration of the Bill it is no longer able to receive written evidence and it can conclude earlier than the expected deadline of 5.00pm on Tuesday 28 March. You are strongly advised to submit your written evidence as soon as possible.
Your submission should be emailed to scrutiny@parliament.uk
Further guidance on submitting written evidence can be found here.
Image: Parliamentary Copyright