On November 4th, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson confirmed that, for the first time since 2017, university tuition fees in England will rise from £9,250 to £9,535 for full-time undergraduates.

The maximum maintenance loan available to students to cover their living costs will also increase by around 3%.

Although these changes will do little to allay concerns about the long-term financial health of both universities and students, Bridget Philipson also said that the government would announce further “major reform” to Higher Education funding in the coming months.

If the government is indeed hunting for some major reforms then a recent paper by Tim Leunig, published by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) describes a whole package of reforms to tuition fees, student loans and university funding.

So, are Tim’s proposed reforms likely to appeal to students, universities and taxpayers? What trade offs does Tim put forward, and who might end up better or worse off as a result? And is the government even ready for big changes to Higher Education funding?

To talk through his proposals, I’m delighted to be joined by Tim himself. He is a Visiting Professor at the LSE who has, over the last 14 years, been an advisor to the Prime Minister, two Chancellors and the Education Secretary among other senior politicians.

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