To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of universities with a (a) financial deficit, (b) diminishing budget surplus and (c) risk of insolvency. (150526)

There are no universities at imminent risk of insolvency, although six institutions were judged by the Higher Education Funding Council for England to be “at higher risk” in March 2007 and are being supported by the council. Higher education institutions will also be able to draw on new funding streams we have introduced such as income from variable tuition fees and voluntary giving to strengthen their financial position, and the number of institutions with historical cost deficits is forecast to fall from 14 per cent. now to 5 per cent. in 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what discussions his Department and its predecessor have held with university representatives or vice-chancellors on raising university tuition fees. (151333)

Whenever this issue has been raised either by university representatives, vice-chancellors or student unions we have consistently said that before any changes could even be considered there will be an independent commission in 2009 which will examine the evidence from the first three years of the new fees regime, and which will report directly to Parliament. That remains the case. Draft terms of reference for the commission were published in January 2004. It would be premature to speculate now about what the commission might recommend or indeed whether Parliament would agree with any recommendations.