Higher Education and Research bill – contact your MP to raise concerns
The Higher Education and Research Bill received its first proper debate on Tuesday, with MPs across the political spectrum raising key concerns outlined in UCU’s briefings. Shadow higher education minister Gordon Marsden echoed our call or a delay on the bill in light of Brexit, as well as highlighting the major concerns in relation to challenger providers, TEF-linked tuition fee rises and the lack of representation for staff and students within the proposals.
The bill will now be scrutinised by a committee of MPs in the autumn, and UCU will continue to brief politicians and provide evidence over the summer.
Further action:
Read our briefing here
Write to your MP about the bill here
Read the parliamentary debate in full here
After Brexit, help UCU defend EU nationals
UCU has continued to press government on the need to guarantee the rights of European Union (EU) staff and students to stay in the UK following the Brexit vote. The campaign has been boosted today by Goldsmiths who have become the first major higher education (HE) institution to directly support the union’s call. Last week Sally Hunt set out four key demands of government in light of the Brexit vote: to allow EU nationals working here to stay; to ensure that lost EU funding for universities is replaced; to drop the HE bill and establish an inquiry into the impact of Brexit; and to set out a positive public discourse on immigration. Read the whole article here.
Also this week:
- In the news
- Demonstrate against cuts and union victimisation at London Metropolitan University
- Further education (FE) pay in England
- UCU calls on Turkish authorities to cease repressive actions against education employees