Spending per student fell after introduction of £9,000 fees

IFS analysis of funding in England questions logic of cutting fees to £8,500

The real-terms value of higher education spending per undergraduate student in England fell by 9 per cent between 2012 and 2020, an analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has found.

Tuition fees in England—which now fund the majority of university spending—increased to £9,000 in 2012, and were supposed to increase in line with inflation. However, since rising to £9,250 in 2017-18, they have flatlined after a freeze on fee levels was introduced by former prime minister Theresa May.