Attempt to defuse degree row

Opponents say part-time students will be worst hit

The government has announced small concessions on its plans to cut funding from students taking a second undergraduate degree.

The controversial policy is to redirect £100m from the funding of such courses towards students taking first degrees.

Higher education minister Bill Rammell said an extra £10m would be directed towards funding part-time degrees.

The Conservatives say it is a "partial retreat" on a policy which they say will deny people a second chance.

Mr Rammell told MPs on the Commons Innovation, Universities and Skills Select Committee the government was raising the amount being set aside to fund part-time courses from £20m to £30m.

He also said there would be an annual review of the list of subjects exempted from the cuts, which include chemistry, physics, engineering, maths, foreign languages and teacher training, and all foundation degrees.

And there would be an immediate review for courses linked to the religious ministry.

Minor changes

The government announced in September that it was "redirecting" £100m of funding from undergraduate courses taken by people who already had a degree to fund students taking first degrees.

The plan, which is due to be brought in over three years starting this year, is fiercely opposed by The Open University and Birkbeck College, London.

Last week backbench Labour MPs spoke against the proposals in the Commons when the Conservatives put forward a motion on the subject.

On Thursday Mr Rammell said the government remained committed to its changes: "I strongly believe it is right that people who have never had the chance to go to university should be given priority over those who have already received tax payers' support to get a degree".

But he went on: "As a result of the Hefce (Higher Education Funding Council for England) consultation I am asking Hefce to make some minor but important changes to their original proposals.

Ministers are now in retreat. David Willetts, Conservatives

"We have always recognised the need to protect key courses that are of national importance and which enable people to retrain through foundation degrees or where employers contribute to the cost.

"We are additionally now asking Hefce to undertake an annual review of exempted subjects to assess whether subjects need to be added or indeed removed from the list."

Shadow innovation, universities and skills secretary, David Willetts, said: "The edifice is beginning to crumble. Ministers are now in retreat.

"It is good that the government is finally abandoning its aggressive defence of these cuts for second chance students. But there is still more to do."

The Conservatives have argued that the government's plans amount to a fundamental change in the way in which higher education is financed and should be reviewed as a whole.