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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Student finance system 'must change', review suggests | Student finance system 'must change', review suggests |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Keeping the current student finance arrangements in Wales is "not an option", most of the evidence to a major review indicates. | Keeping the current student finance arrangements in Wales is "not an option", most of the evidence to a major review indicates. |
| Grants of up to £5,190 are available towards tuition fees, usually £9,000. | Grants of up to £5,190 are available towards tuition fees, usually £9,000. |
| Welsh universities have said the grants - costing £229m in 2014-15 - could be better spent helping poor students. | |
| Prof Sir Ian Diamond said Welsh students had less debt than those from England but there was a "lack of consensus on the way forward". | Prof Sir Ian Diamond said Welsh students had less debt than those from England but there was a "lack of consensus on the way forward". |
| Summarising the evidence his review had received, Sir Ian said a "range of suggestions" for changes had been made, but "most respondents recognise that there is no easy solution and that difficult choices will have to be made". | Summarising the evidence his review had received, Sir Ian said a "range of suggestions" for changes had been made, but "most respondents recognise that there is no easy solution and that difficult choices will have to be made". |
| Education Minister Huw Lewis said the interim report "identifies the key themes arising from that evidence" but "does not make any judgement about the validity or significance of that evidence". | Education Minister Huw Lewis said the interim report "identifies the key themes arising from that evidence" but "does not make any judgement about the validity or significance of that evidence". |
| Mr Lewis announced the Diamond review in November 2013, saying it was right to take stock at a time of "rapid and unpredictable change" for universities, but the final report is not due until September 2016. | Mr Lewis announced the Diamond review in November 2013, saying it was right to take stock at a time of "rapid and unpredictable change" for universities, but the final report is not due until September 2016. |
| Universities have argued the grant means tens of millions of pounds leaves the higher education sector in Wales and goes to colleges in England. | Universities have argued the grant means tens of millions of pounds leaves the higher education sector in Wales and goes to colleges in England. |
| They recommend means-tested grants to help poorer students meet their living costs would be better. | They recommend means-tested grants to help poorer students meet their living costs would be better. |
| Responding to Sir Ian's report on Friday, Conservative Shadow Education Minister Angela Burns said: "Labour's current policy only serves to gather vast amounts of Welsh public money and dump it at the front door of English universities. | Responding to Sir Ian's report on Friday, Conservative Shadow Education Minister Angela Burns said: "Labour's current policy only serves to gather vast amounts of Welsh public money and dump it at the front door of English universities. |
| "All the while, our HE [highereEducation] sector continues to struggle. | "All the while, our HE [highereEducation] sector continues to struggle. |
| "It's unfair - it's disadvantaging Wales - and it's got to stop." | "It's unfair - it's disadvantaging Wales - and it's got to stop." |
| How it works elsewhere | How it works elsewhere |
| Scottish students get free tuition at Scottish universities, along with students from any other EU country, except for those from the rest of the UK, who have to pay. | Scottish students get free tuition at Scottish universities, along with students from any other EU country, except for those from the rest of the UK, who have to pay. |
| Scottish students going to university elsewhere have to pay tuition fees but can apply for loans of up to £9,000 a year. | Scottish students going to university elsewhere have to pay tuition fees but can apply for loans of up to £9,000 a year. |
| Northern Irish students pay tuition fees of up to £3,805 a year to study in Northern Ireland, and up to £9,000 elsewhere in the UK. Loans are available to pay these fees, but no grants. | Northern Irish students pay tuition fees of up to £3,805 a year to study in Northern Ireland, and up to £9,000 elsewhere in the UK. Loans are available to pay these fees, but no grants. |
| Students from England have to pay tuition fees at any UK university but can apply for loans of up to £9,000 a year. | Students from England have to pay tuition fees at any UK university but can apply for loans of up to £9,000 a year. |
| Analysis by Tomos Livingstone, BBC Wales political unit | Analysis by Tomos Livingstone, BBC Wales political unit |
| Today is in some ways is the easy part - as Sir Ian Diamond says, almost everyone agrees that the status quo is not an option. | Today is in some ways is the easy part - as Sir Ian Diamond says, almost everyone agrees that the status quo is not an option. |
| That status quo is based on a simple principle: wherever Welsh university students go to study, the Welsh government pays out - a Welsh student studying in England pays the first £3,500 of the fee, with the Welsh government paying the rest. | That status quo is based on a simple principle: wherever Welsh university students go to study, the Welsh government pays out - a Welsh student studying in England pays the first £3,500 of the fee, with the Welsh government paying the rest. |
| Simple and popular with recipients it may be, but it's expensive - one estimate is of a cost of £3.6bn over the next five years. And around £90m a year goes across the border to England; it's not difficult to see why Welsh universities aren't thrilled about that. | Simple and popular with recipients it may be, but it's expensive - one estimate is of a cost of £3.6bn over the next five years. And around £90m a year goes across the border to England; it's not difficult to see why Welsh universities aren't thrilled about that. |
| Now the tough part - what better system is out there? Transferring the cost back to the students brings Wales into line with England, but will lead to protests; paying the subsidy only to students who stay in Wales will lead to criticism of parochialism. | Now the tough part - what better system is out there? Transferring the cost back to the students brings Wales into line with England, but will lead to protests; paying the subsidy only to students who stay in Wales will lead to criticism of parochialism. |
| A tough call for the party manifesto writers as they prepare for May's elections - although the Conservatives have already promised to scrap the subsidy. | A tough call for the party manifesto writers as they prepare for May's elections - although the Conservatives have already promised to scrap the subsidy. |
| And they can't turn back to Sir Ian for the answer - his final report, the one with the recommendations, won't be published until after polling day. | And they can't turn back to Sir Ian for the answer - his final report, the one with the recommendations, won't be published until after polling day. |