University Access on Ability, not Ability to Pay - Foster

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Sun 17th Apr 2005

After the publication of figures last week showing that student debt has risen to an average of over £13,000, Don Foster today announced the Liberal Democrat campaign to scrap student top-up and tuition fees.

Commenting, Don Foster said:

"Labour won't be forgiven for breaking its 2001 manifesto promise not to introduce top-up fees.

"As so many young Bath residents have told me, they're being put off going to university by the cost and those that do go, too often end up with mortgage style debts.

"The taxpayer, not student, should meet the cost of developing the skills Britain needs.

"Only the Liberal Democrats are committed to a fair deal for students. Only the Liberal Democrats can be trusted to deliver."

ENDS

Notes to editors:

On Thursday, a survey by Barclays found that the average student debt had risen 10% in the last year to an average of £13,501.

The Liberal Democrat policy:

Tuition should be free: We believe that education should be free and that no one should be denied access to learning because they cannot afford it. Everyone benefits from well-qualified, highly educated people living and working in Britain.

Liberal Democrats would:

• Scrap all tuition fees - We would get rid of both the present fees and the top-up fees due to be imposed from 2006.

• Re-introduce more equitable maintenance grants - of up to £2000 towards living costs for students from low-income homes. That is £500 more than is promised by the government and not a penny of it will have to be spent on tuition.

• Develop a 21st century higher education system which would bring together universities, further education and e-learning, open up routes to technical and vocational as well as academic qualifications, and make it easier for those who wish to study part-time.[1]

• Fund these commitments from progressive taxation - from the revenues raised by our proposed 50% income tax band for those earning over £100,000 - the top 1% of earners, 82% of whom are graduates.[2]

It comes down to a question of trust:

• Labour promised not to introduce top-up fees - then they did exactly that.

• The Tories can't be trusted - NUS President Kat Fletcher says[3]: "Though the Tories stood by the NUS in our battle over tuition fees, we now recognise that their promises for a fairer funding situation for higher education were merely rhetoric."

Liberal Democrats deliver what we promise -

• We voted against tuition fees in 1998

• We voted against top-up fees in 2004

• In Scotland we have scrapped tuition fees