University finances holding up well, claims Halfon

Minister says other areas of the public sector have been hit harder than higher education

While the Department for Education would welcome increased funding for higher education from the Treasury, there are more pressing public sector areas where government money should be targeted, Robert Halfon has said.

The minister for skills, apprenticeships and higher education (pictured) told a House of Lords inquiry into the Office for Students that while some institutions were facing financial difficulty, universities as a whole had weathered the current financial storm better than other areas of the public sector.