Responsibility for English higher education remains split across several government departments and ministers following the formation of Andy Burnham’s new administration, stoking fears that the sector may become a policy “blind spot”.
The new prime minister has shaken up Labour’s top team and the mechanics of Whitehall, appointing Lucy Powell as education secretary and disbanding the fledgling Department for Science, Innovation and Trade (DSIT). Science secretary Liz Kendall and science minister Patrick Vallance have both departed as part of the changes.
But there is some continuity for the higher education sector. Skills minister Jacqui Smith remains in post, with her portfolio split between the Department of Education (DfE) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
While many in the higher education sector have welcomed the decision to retain Smith, who is widely viewed as having a strong understanding of the challenges facing universities, there is some disappointment that the responsibility for higher education remains split across departments and ministers.
“Universities remain trapped in a policy blind spot,” said Diana Beech, director of the Finsbury Institute at City St George’s, University of London, as the sector is left without “a clear home”.
