Diana Beech suggests how Whitehall could be reshaped in the interest of universities
As the first full week of Keir Starmer’s new UK government draws to a close, the Whitehall alignment for universities looks remarkably similar to that of the last administration.
Far from the “change” that was promised, the higher education and, indeed, England-only parts of the universities portfolio remain in the Department for Education (DfE) while research and development, and UK-wide innovation and investment strategies, continue to sit in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
The only real variations of note for universities so far in terms of the alignment of departmental deckchairs include the dropping of the term ‘levelling up’ from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, now headed up by deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, and the potentially significant appointment of Chris Bryant as minister of state across both the DSIT and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
The new DSIT-DCMS linkup suggests welcome cut-through for the creative industries in a research and innovation department otherwise dominated by the ‘hard’ sciences. Yet, given Peter Kyle’s rebranding of DSIT as an “economic department”, the new science secretary may not be a natural advocate in cabinet for the wider benefits the arts, humanities and social sciences bring to society.
Chance for a reset
While experts sometimes criticise previous governments for making too many ministry of government changes, that may be the wrong lesson to take from history. The start of a new government is, instead, a good time for a new administration to get its house in order and lay strong foundations for the parliamentary term ahead.
For too long, the policy framework around universities in England has suffered from split Whitehall portfolios and a seeming lack of communication between departments about critical interdependencies, especially concerning essential cross-subsidies between international education, domestic fees and research.
It was in the new prime minister’s gift to correct this. Yet the teaching and research aspects of university administration remain divided. And so, the Cinderella story for Britain’s higher education institutions continues.
In the DfE, university voices risk being drowned out by counterparts in the compulsory part of the education system, while in DSIT the broad diversity of the sector may struggle for visibility in a department that is largely set up to serve established research-intensive organisations with significant capabilities and clout.
Signals on skills
By failing to reunite the different parts of universities under one roof in Whitehall, the new Labour government sends a clear signal to the sector that it sees skills and human capital, and research and innovation, as two separate means of unlocking opportunities and growth. With all the talk of a tertiary system, the new government is more likely to expend political capital creating skills pathways between further and higher education in England than it is integrating these skills capabilities with the research and innovation ecosystem nationwide.
The announcement of ‘big-hitting’ ministers to the science and higher education portfolios may go some way to reassure university leaders they are not being sidelined by No. 10. However, Patrick Vallance’s appointment as an ‘expert’ minister makes him an unlikely candidate to stretch outside his brief and make connections with other policy areas willingly, as could be expected of more ambitious party loyalists.
As a fellow Lords minister, Jacqui Smith, too, may struggle to connect her new skills brief to other ministerial portfolios, not least because she won’t be supping with colleagues in the Commons tearoom, where the candid conversations tend to occur.
Unless the prime minister makes substantial changes soon, universities in England will have to get used to a future where their political masters remain fragmented across Whitehall and largely segregated in the Lords.
Those opposed to an all-encompassing departmental remit for universities need only look to our Irish neighbours, who have successfully created the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science as a means of ensuring these sectors support and encourage the social and economic development of the nation.
But if the appetite to replicate this model in the UK isn’t yet there, then a quick fix could be had by appointing a junior minister across DSIT and the DfE to ensure nothing falls through the gaps.
Time to triangulate
Even better would be to triangulate this role with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) since international education exports have become a vital pillar of the financial sustainability of our world-leading institutions right across the UK.
Bringing DBT into the fold would also help to dilute the England-only parochialism of decisions made in the DfE, urging more thought about the UK-wide implications of policy divergence under the Office for Students (OfS) and its ever-tightening quality regime and regulatory responsibilities.
A political minister sitting across the three departments of DfE, DSIT and DBT would be a shrewd move. It would show that the new government has done its homework by building on what worked during the Theresa May years when the universities and science briefs were held jointly by one minister. Yet it would also show it is ambitious and unafraid to go even further by locking in the department that is ultimately responsible for boosting the reputation of our universities and their research overseas, and attracting the inward investment our country so desperately needs.
With a mission-driven government, Keir Starmer has an opportunity to learn from the past and build for the future. Placing universities and skills in a structure where they are formally tied to skills, innovation and international trade would set them free to serve the country in myriad ways.
Diana Beech is chief executive officer of London Higher and former adviser to three universities and science ministers