The National Audit Office issued its report on ‘The higher education market’ in December 2017. This identifies that, despite a 50 per cent increase in upfront public funding for teaching, only 32 per cent of students believe that they are receiving value for money. The extension of higher education throughout less advantaged backgrounds is weak and concentrated in the less prestigious universities. There is little price competition and little financial reward for rising in the league tables. In introducing the new Office for Students (OfS) in the 2017 Higher Education and Research Act, the government noted the rampant grade inflation in degree classifications. Recently, there has been a sharp increase in ‘unconditional offers’ to 23 per cent of university applicants. The Higher Education minister is quoted as saying that this ‘undermines the credibility of the university system’ (BBC News, 26 July 2018). The new Office for Students is charged to: maintain autonomy of higher education providers; promote quality; encourage competition; promote value for money; and promote equality of opportunity.

The Labour Party promise, in its 2017 General Election Manifesto, to eliminate student fees is generally viewed as a significant political success. The Party gained seats, particularly in constituencies with high university student populations. Arguably in consequence, the government has instituted a Review of Post-18 Education and Funding to conclude in early 2019. This Review in particular maintains the principles of income-contingent contributions by students to education costs and the absence of a cap on post-18 education. It is presumed that the wording of both principles is carefully chosen to allow for significant changes to the current funding regime. Notably, the ‘absence of a cap on post-18 education’ need not imply the ‘absence of a cap on university students’. Students can instead follow their interests into first rate apprenticeships and technical programmes. While awaiting the findings of the Review, the government has already capped tuition fees from rising further and made the repayments on student loans less onerous.

As if all that wasn’t enough, academics went on strike in 2018 over proposed draconian cuts to the pension system. Despite the 50 per cent increase in upfront public funding for teaching, the employers’ organisation (Universities UK) was unwilling to cover the projected shortfall in the scheme with increased contributions (on the 2/3, 1/3 share between universities and academics that had previously been agreed).