Labour MPs seek fines over admissions

Labour backbenchers today launched new demands in the row over universities.

They wrote to Education Secretary Charles Clarke calling for universities to be fined if they fail to attract enough well qualified working class students.

Under current proposals, the Office For Fair Access (Offa) would only be able to hand out fines - up to £500,000 - if universities failed to develop programmes to encourage applications from students from poorer backgrounds.

But backbenchers Peter Bradley and Alan Whitehead want Offa to be able to penalise universities if these programmes produce no result.

Mr Bradley said today: "We want to see universities judged not just by their endeavours but by the results."

Today Education Secretary Charles Clarke made a last minute appeal to Labour backbenchers not to vote against the Government's higher education reforms on Wednesday.

Rather than accept amendments now being canvassed by Labour rebels, the Government would kill its own Bill, Mr Clarke said. "That would mean there would be no extra £1 billion for universities and no new grants of £2,700 for students from poorer backgrounds.

"With the political difficulties we have had getting agreement to this set of proposals, it is difficult to see where we could put forward other legislation before the general election and it is not at all clear when we could do it after the general election."

He added: "It is a necessary and a good reform and deserves to be examined on its merits."

Mr Clarke combined his comments with an attack on Dr Ian Gibson, the fellow Norwich Labour MP who has tabled one of the amendments likely to feature in the debate.

The Gibson amendment would remove the provision in the Bill which imposed a cap on the level of fees which could be charged by universities.