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University tuition fees will increase in England for the first time in eight years, The Independent understands, as part of a major overhaul of the higher education system.
Fees, which have been frozen at £9,250 since 2017, are expected to rise in line with the Retail Price Index inflation from September 2025. Matching them to the current rate of inflation at 2.7 per cent would mean they increase to around £9,500.
It comes amid growing concern over the state of the education sector, with many universities facing financial crisis. As many as 40 per cent of English universities are expecteed to fall into a budget deficit this year.
Earlier this year Universities UK called for tuition fees to be “index-linked to inflation, not to address the funding shortfall, but to allow fee income to maintain its real-terms value over time”.
Concerns over university finances have been compounded by a drop in the number of international students, who were propping up the sector.
Home Office figures from 2024 showed 16 per cent fewer visa applications were made between July and September than in the same period in 2023.
Bridget Phillipson is expected to confirm the fee rise on Monday afternoon with an announcement on “higher education reform” in the House of Commons.
Students in England and Wales currently pay £9,250 per year for university tuition, while in Northern Ireland it costs £4,750 for Northern Irish students. In Scotland, it is free to go to university for Scottish students.
The move is likely to provoke backlash as Sir Keir Starmer promised to abolish university tuition fees entirely when he stood to be Labour leader in 2020.
He rowed back on the pledge last year, saying it was no longer affordable as a result of the country’s financial situation, instead promising Labour would come up with a “fairer solution” if it formed the next government.
Meanwhile, the party’s 2024 general election manifesto says the current “higher education funding settlement does not work for the taxpayer, universities, staff, or students”.
“Labour will act to create a secure future for higher education and the opportunities it creates across the UK”, it adds.
More to follow…
