Meanwhile, the prime minister will be involved in frantic shuttle diplomacy chasing round European capitals before the European Council in Cardiff for which the heads of government will assemble on Sunday.

There is particular onus on the government in its last weeks in the European Union presidency to seek some concerted action on the worsening situation in Kosovo.~

Tuition Fees

The largest rebellion by Labour MPs on any issue since single parents benefits last December is expected when MPs tackle the Teaching and Higher Education Bill, despite some being urged to take a week's "constituency leave" to improve the figures.

Around 40 have identified their distaste for proposals to impose fees and abolish maintenance grants by tabling an amendment to the Bill and a large number of them plan at least to abstain in the vote.

The government argues that the measures, based on recommendations in the report by Sir Ron Dearing instituted by the last Tory government, are required because universities are failing through a lack of resources, there are unfair limits on university places for school leavers and the grant system is a mess.

The prime minister argues that if the government did not impose tuition fees it would either have to increase taxes or borrowing to increase grants, which would not be fair or right when it is determined to maintain a tight hold on public spending.

But there was no mention of imposing tuition fees in Labour's election manifesto and many Labour MPs feel that it is contrary to the party's tradition of support for free education. The Dearing Report did not call for removal of the maintenance grant element.

Ministers say that the poorest third of students will not have to pay fees and that the next third will only pay reduced fees. Those paying fees will be able to do so by way of a student loan which is not repayable until they are earning more than £10,000 a year (compared with £5,000 a year under the Dearing proposals, which did not provide either for abatement for the poorest pupils).

David Blunkett is expected to seek to minimise opposition by increasing the State's financial help for mature students, for single parents and for those from one-parent families and by announcing that the new charges to students for tuition will be "capped" at no more than a quarter of average tuition costs.

Labour rebels and the Opposition are also contesting government plans which will penalise students from England and Wales at Scottish universities doing a fourth year. The Opposition says that Labour is breaking election promises and failing to live up to its claims of being a "One Nation" party.

The Minimum Wage Battle

The government's announcement of its response to the Low Pay Commission report on proposed levels for the minimum wage is being held up by a battle at Cabinet level.

The Commission has called for a minimum wage of £3.60, with £3.20 for 18-21 year-olds but Gordon Brown is fighting for lower levels, if not exemption, for younger workers. Margaret Beckett, who as President of the Board of Trade will have to present the government's proposals, is refusing to countenance this.

She says that younger workers are particularly prone to exploitation while the chancellor fears that if young people are protected by the minimum pay net it will wreck the prospects for his showpiece New Deal programme for the young unemployed, making employers more reluctant to keep them on in jobs after their training periods.

Although they used to work together on the Shadow Treasury team in Opposition, the two are battling at the same time over Mrs Beckett's proposed spending plans for her department.

Attempts to resolve the dispute in a Cabinet committee have so far failed but they are hoping to get it settled and presented to the full Cabinet for decision this week.

There are growing worries among the Treasury team about the future of the New Deal because firms hit by higher than expected interest rates following six increases under the Labour Government and by the level of the pound are becoming more reluctant to sign up, even though ministers blame industry for accepting higher wage settlements than is sensible for the containment of inflation.

It is a problem for the government that the New Deal relies on a fixed budget of £3.5m raised through the windfall tax on the privatised utilities. Ministers pledged to tight spending limits do not want to find themselves forced to inject large sums of new money into the New Deal project. But any significant downturn in the economy could put it at risk.

Blair and the European Council

Despite all the early talk about "leading in Europe" Britain"s six months in the European presidency has been a rather humdrum affair.

Nothing of any great note will be decided in Cardiff and the Prime Minister was criticised for not doing more to resolve disputes over the European Central Bank presidency before presiding over the Single Currency launch summit in Brussels which proved such a fiasco.

That may be one reason why he is so frantically involved in pre-summit diplomacy this week, visiting Sweden, Denmark and Finland on Monday and Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and France on Tuesday.

Although the British presidency has been keen to speed on the process of European Union enlargement it has largely been routine business and no breakthrough has been achieved on issues like CAP reform which stand in the way.

The government's presentational and public relations skills which have seen it remain so popular at home have not been as effectively deployed on the European scene.

The Cardiff agenda looks like being the familiar one of discussion on economic reforms, including completion of the single market, employability and flexible labour markets, the encouragement of entrepreneurship and the development of the single currency.

There will be a grander, wider debate next Monday on the future of Europe, but more immediate attention is likely to focus on what to do about the Serbian aggression in Kosovo.

The European Union hardly covered itself with distinction over Bosnia and it is up to the British presidency, in its dying days before handing over to Austria, to ensure a more effective and concerted response to the latest unfolding human tragedy.