AS Politics: constitutional reform update

Promises made by leaders in Holyrood and Cardiff Bay that the devolved governments will pay for the proposed hike in tuition fees have led some to argue that we are witnessing the development of educational apartheid.

This latest controversy gives us a chance to revisit the debate on devolution.

On a positive note it can be argued that democracy has been enhanced as a result of the introduction of legislative devolution within the UK since government has become much more region sensitive, i.e. the new arenas deliver different policy to that produced by Westminster. In Scotland there is free long term care for the elderly, a repeal of the ban on promoting homosexuality in schools, and a Freedom of Information Act that has fewer restrictions. In Wales, there have been fewer differences, but this has begun to change since Morgan took over from Michael as First Minister and aimed to put ‘clear red water’ between Cardiff and Westminster. Witness the abolition of school league tables, free bus travel for pensioners, and free school milk for infants.

But by far the most controversial and high profile policy difference is over tuition fees. This is what the Observer had to say about the latest on this story:

“The Welsh Assembly will meet the cost of extra fees for Welsh students attending any UK university, in effect freezing the cost at £3,290 instead of the maximum £9,000 for students living over the border. English people who wish to study at Welsh universities would face the high tuition fee rate as imposed by Westminster.

It means the Welsh Assembly has joined the Scottish Parliament in breaking away from the spending priorities of the coalition government and are putting their money where their voters have indicated they want it – keeping down the costs of higher education.

In Scotland, students, if they attend a Scottish university, pay no fees at all although English students are charged tuition fees. In Northern Ireland, a decision has yet to be taken, but it’s expected that the Assembly will keep fees below the dramatic increase planned for England. Parliament will vote next week on proposals to increase the cap on tuition fees from £3,290 to as much as £9,000 a year.”

Opponents of devolution have gone on the attack by pointing out that the raft of different policy measures that have emanated from the devolved assemblies in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have been made possible simply as the result of the unequal distribution of public funds within the UK as allocated by the complex Barnett formula (itself intended as a substitute for devolution) meaning that public spending is higher outside of England. Residents in Yorkshire would be rightly aggrieved if they were to know that spending on education is 30% higher in Scotland than where they live.

In response to the latest controversy on fees, politicians in England have suggested that the funding arrangements should be revisited, with the implication being that Scotland and Wales would receive less from the Treasury and therefore Celtic students wouldn’t be afforded the luxury of not having to pay fees.