Vikki Howells, Minister for Further and Higher Education
I am absolutely committed to supporting a sustainable higher education sector, with strong institutions able to deliver on our ambitions for learners. Our universities are also a key component of our commitment to drive economic growth through supporting and growing research and innovation for our businesses and industry.
I recognise the higher education sector in Wales – and across the UK – is going through a challenging time and facing painful choices to put institutions on a firm financial footing. When working through these difficult options, particularly proposals around job cuts, I expect all institutions to work in social partnership with trade unions, staff and students and to explore options fully before considering compulsory redundancies.
As a government, we have set out our vision for post-16 learning through the Tertiary Education and Research Act and the establishment of Medr. Medr is already embarking on a programme of reform on how our institutions are regulated with a specific focus on improving quality, governance, financial management and staff and student welfare. Through the new Act, I want to make sure we make the most of this opportunity to transform the sector. I have been speaking to the sector directly and visiting all our institutions to engage with Vice Chancellors, staff, unions and learners. I have also invited all Vice Chancellors to a roundtable meeting in early March for more discussions about the current challenges facing the sector.
To support our universities, I have already increased the tuition fee cap for 2025/26, providing up to £21.9m in additional income to universities, and I have also provided an additional £10m in grant funding to the sector. In recognition of the significant financial challenges facing higher education, I am pleased to announce today a further £18.5m capital funding this financial year. This additional funding will support universities with estate maintenance and digital projects to reduce operating costs, while also improving environmental sustainability and ensuring that facilities continue to be suitable for providing a high-quality student experience and delivering world-leading research. I have also asked Medr to report back to me on how this funding has been maximised to make future savings to ease the current financial challenges.
In addition, I have met with the UK Government Minister for Skills to discuss how Welsh Government contributes to their plans for higher education reform including the new UK International Education Strategy, the future of structural investment and research funding across the UK, the future oversight of student finance and funding and a UK-wide review of governance and leadership in our universities. Universities Wales is also engaged in the Universities UK taskforce of Value for Money and Efficiency and will consider how its recommendations, once published, can be applied to Wales.
I have also asked Medr to undertake an overview of subject demand, provision, and distribution in HE in Wales, and to consider where interventions might be required to ensure the continuation of strategically important subject areas in Wales that are vital to the success of public services.
An evaluation of how we currently fund our student support package is already underway to ensure learners are encouraged and supported to go onto higher education. We offer the most generous support package for learners in the UK and I want to make sure we are maximising our investment to increase participation. To support this ambition more widely, we are providing an additional £1.5m in the draft budget for specific activities that are aimed at improving participation and are investing in improving school attendance and attainment as these are the key foundations to increasing participation longer term.
I am also progressing activity to encourage learners to aspire to higher education as part of my focus on increasing and widening participation. The Seren Academy has been working closely with Welsh universities for many years and I will be inviting them to consider again which of their courses they think should be prioritised in the work of this programme. I am committed to ensuring there is a strong link between every university in Wales and the Seren Academy and I am reshaping the programme to help widen participation for learners from more disadvantaged backgrounds.
And to continue to support the international recruitment and promotional activities of universities, which are so vital to their intellectual and financial health, I will invest a further £500,000 in the Global Wales programme, led by Universities Wales, for a transition year. The period covered by this additional funding will be used for discussion and planning on longer-term support for this important area of work.
Universities across Wales are anchor institutions in our economy, our communities and our culture. I will work together with the sector and other partners, alongside Medr, to negotiate this challenging time and safeguard the future of higher education in Wales. I will continue to keep the Senedd updated.