A Commons committee has refused to endorse the government’s choice to run the higher education admissions watchdog

You're more likely to die if admitted to hospital during the weekend. It's a shocking truth, and one that's explored further in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine today. Last year, as Pete blogged at the time, the 2011 Dr Foster Hospital Guide discovered that emergency patients are 10 per cent more likely to die if admitted at the weekend. Today's report goes further ...

Shabana Mahmood MP, Labour's Shadow Minister for Higher Education, has written to David Willetts following the Urgent Question which took place in the House of Commons this morning on the pay and tax arrangements for the Chief Executive of the Student Loans Company. Following her letter, she added:

Britain needs to provide real alternatives to higher education, including a better system of vocational training

Responding to today's announcement that university applications have declined Paul Blomfield, Member of Parliament for Sheffield Central, says that this could be the start of a very worrying trend. Mr Blomfield is a member of the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee and Secretary of the All Party Parliament Group on Higher Education. Paul Blomfield MP said: "Today's announcem...

University applications have fallen more sharply in England than in Scotland, as admissions service figures reveal the impact of higher tuition fees.

The BBC reports: University applications from UK students for the first year of higher tuition fees are down by 8.7%, according to figures from the admissions service. With fees rising to up to £9,000 per year, the impact has been biggest for England’s universities – down by 9.9%. The LibDem Voice team have been quick

Shabana Mahmood MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Higher Education, responding to the news that UCAS applications have dropped significantly since 2011, said:

The fall has provided the first evidence that higher tuition fees could be deterring some would-be students

A-ha! Labour have hit on a line on the benefits cap, and Liam Bryne is peddling it in the Daily Telegraph this morning. ‘Now, there are some people who are against this idea altogether,’ he writes, ‘Neither I, nor Ed Miliband are among them.’ The way he sees it, he goes on to explain, is that there should be a cap but it should be set locally, so that it could be higher tha...