HE bill amendments ‘fall short’

Eleven pages of amendments to the higher education and research bill tabled by the UK government fail to address previously raised concerns, opposition MPs and university representatives have said.

They were responding to the Department for Education’s amendments to the bill, published on 15 November in advance of a forthcoming parliamentary debate, known as the bill’s report stage, in the House of Commons.

As reported earlier this month by Research Fortnight, the government has agreed a limited number of concessions, holding out the prospect of more significant changes after the bill is debated in the House of Lords.