‘Delay, reduce or ring-fence?’ What’s plan B on student fee levy?

The levy is for England - that's the extent of the UK government's remit for funding students and institutions for teaching. It's actually 33 years since teaching funding devolution first happened and 26 years since it moved under democratic control of devolved institutions though everyone and their dog talks about the "UK university/HE sector" like it always has been a single entity. The levy will NOT apply to institutions based in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland - no devolved government is stupid enough to try to create a disincentive to international students enrolling within its jurisdiction. It's not clear to me what happens to students enrolled at a branch campus in eg London of an institution based outside England (of which there are many). I presume the lawyers will pore over the details once announced, but superficially it seems likely that the UK government has no fiscal or legal jurisidiction to impose the levy on them - which will probably lead to an expansion in their number. However, if the income raised from the spending is then earmarked/hypothecated solely for additional maintenance grants for domestic students domiciled in England before their course begins, then entitlement will include those 'home' students choosing to study in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Any additional spending on maintenance grants by the Department for Education for England is covered by the longstanding Barnett formula to provide 'consequential' funding for the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The current percentage for DFE spending is 100% counts towards the formula and the share of extra funding to be allocated is 18.34% (9.52% for Scotland, 5.49% for Wales, 3.33% for NI). So taking an example from the article, the maths are : if £600M is taken from the levy from English Russell Group universities, then only £507M can be spent on extra maintenance grants for England-domiciled students; £93M of the £600M will be added to the block grant for the devolved administrations in Scotland (+£48M), Wales (+£27M) and Northern Ireland (+£16M) [NB consequentials rounded down]. It's up to each devolved administration what to do with the extra funding kindly provided by England's elite institutions. If it were me in charge, I would play 'Robin Hood' and give it to the post-92 institutions most in need of financial help in the current crisis, particularly those coping with the UK government's increased Employer's National Insurance contributions. I can think of a post-92 institution not very far from my home in Glasgow where it could help stave off the current threat of redundancies and course closures. While the spirit of Robin Hood might be very popular in some quarters, this would be an outcome solely driven by the stupidity of the current UK government and the basket case they and their predecessors have made of the UK's 'fiscal tiers' framework by their refusal to properly review the Barnett methodology into something fit for a highly devolved state in the twenty first century. It's probably a question of fiscal tears not fiscal tiers ... Michael Picken, Glasgow

The current government seems set on doing things that will disadvantage the very people they are employed to serve. Making the UK - and how many overseas students understand the nuances of 'England' as opposed to 'United Kingdom'? - appear less welcoming to international students is detrimental to our institutions, our international reputation, and to the students themselves, who will scamper off to other parts of the world able to offer a similar standard of education in a more congenial atmosphere. Then they'll either stay on to contribute there or go home and retain fond memories of wherever they studied, often rising to positions where they can influence their homeland's attitudes towards other nations.