Promise of more university places

Mr Brown suggested priority would go to science and engineering subjetcs

The prime minister has said there will be extra university places for the next academic year, starting this autumn.

Gordon Brown made the promise to a committee of senior MPs - but without putting a figure on the expansion.

He said the universities minister would make an announcement "in a timely manner" after consulting the sector.

Applications are up about 10%, suggesting tens of thousands of people face disappointment, while previous expansion plans have been cut back.

Fifty thousand more people have applied for university places in the UK this year, than last year.

The Conservatives have accused the government of "sleepwalking into a crisis", as more young people try to avoid the recession by studying.

Stem focus

Mr Brown was questioned on the issue by the Commons liaison committee, made up of select committee chairs.

Extra demand is outstripping available places by about 40,000

He was told by universities and innovation committee chair Phil Willis that the extra 3,000 places that had been made available this year were "derisory compared with the demand".

"So what are you saying to all those young people?" he asked.

"That we will provide more places than have been previously announced," Mr Brown said.

"The universities minister will make an announcement in due course."

He was pressed on the urgency of the situation, given that A-level results are due out in five weeks' time.

Mr Brown would not be drawn on specifics except to say "we will do what we can" - particularly in science, technology, engineering and maths departments.

Job cuts

It was not clear whether the promised extra student numbers would be across the UK or only for England.

The leader of the University and College Union, Sally Hunt, said the news was welcome.

"However, we cannot just cram more students into our universities at a time when the staff required to teach and nurture them are being cut.

"We are pleased the prime minister also announced today that the government will be consulting with the higher education sector about the plans.

"Our message to the government is quite simple: if we want to ensure we are delivering the highest possible quality of education to our students, we have to abolish any notion that it can be done on the cheap."

A report from the European Commission shows that more than one fifth of UK students of all ages are in higher education, above the EU average of 19%.

Public spending on education across the EU averaged 5% of GDP, compared with 5.5% in the UK.