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The cross party appointment signals the start of this review, with Lord Browne leading a group of independent figures drawn from the student body, academia and business to analyse the challenges and opportunities facing higher education, and their implications for student financing and support.

In assessing options the review will be expected to take into account the goal of widening participation, affordability and the desirability of a simplification of the student support system.

Lord Mandelson, Universities Secretary said:

“Last week I launched the Government’s Framework for higher education, showing the challenges and opportunities ahead for universities in the next decade.

“We need universities to continue to thrive and meet this vision, and Lord Browne and his team will examine the balance of contributions to universities by taxpayers, students, graduates and employers.

“Variable tuition fees provide institutions with a secure income stream worth £1.3bn, helping to sustain the long-term financial health and viability of the sector. Since they were introduced student numbers have continued to rise, along with the numbers coming from lower-income backgrounds.

“This is an important piece of work which will require extensive consultation with all who would be affected by any changes, including current and potential students. I look forward to hearing the recommendations of the review team in due course.

“I have discussed the Review’s membership and terms of reference with David Willetts and we are both committed to ensuring the independent nature of this important piece of work.”

Lord Browne said:

"I am delighted to have been asked to chair the Review, and look forward to working with the outstanding team of Review members. The Review comes at an important time and our task is a serious one: to make recommendations to secure the vitality of Higher Education in this country while ensuring that finance does not become a barrier to those who have the ability and motivation for further study. We will be open and consultative in how we examine the issues and will set out the process for taking evidence shortly."

Lord Browne will be joined on the review panel by Michael Barber, Diane Coyle, David Eastwood, Julia King, Rajay Naik and Peter Sands. Biographies of all review members are available on the website of the review: www.independent.gov.uk/hereview

The review will make recommendations to the Government next year on the future of fees policy and financial support for full and part-time undergraduate and postgraduate students.

The Independent Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance fulfils the commitment made by the Government during the Commons stages of the Higher Education Act 2004 to review the operation of variable tuition fees after these had been in force for three years.

Notes to Editors

1. The review is expected to report in 2010.

2. The review will take evidence from within Higher Education and among those with an interest in its success, including an advisory group to be convened by the Chair.

3. The review team will work with the Office for Fair Access and HEFCE and collaborate with Professor Adrian Smith’s review of postgraduate study. Its work will also take into account the conclusions of Professor Sir Martin Harris’s review on promoting access to higher education.

4. In assessing options the review will be expected to take into account:

· The goal of widening participation to encompass all who can benefit; the avoidance of the creation of barriers to wider access; the impact of the system of bursary payments; promoting fair access to all institutions; facilitating choice and a diversity of access routes to higher education, including through links with further education colleges; and the scope for a greater diversity of models of learning, such as modular and part-time study and the availability of student support for such courses.

· Affordability for students and their families during their studies and afterwards; impact on public finances and value for money for the taxpayer;

· The desirability of simplification of the system of support.

Department for Business, Innovation & Skills

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is building a dynamic and competitive UK economy by: creating the conditions for business success; promoting innovation, enterprise and science; and giving everyone the skills and opportunities to succeed. To achieve this it will foster world-class universities and promote an open global economy. BIS - Investing in our future.

Contacts:

BIS Press Office
NDS.BIS@coi.gsi.gov.uk

Emma Griffiths
Phone: 020 7215 5982
Emma.Griffiths@bis.gsi.gov.uk