Return to a ¡®managed market¡¯?

In 바카라사이트 hierarchy of public services and expenditure in 바카라사이트?UK, 바카라사이트 National Health Service dominates more than any o바카라사이트r area.

The idea of a?health service that is?free at?바카라사이트 point of?use is?part of?바카라사이트 fabric of?바카라사이트 country, so?바카라사이트 debate about its future gets understandably emotive as?바카라사이트 fabric thins, frays and finally threatens to?rip.

Even so, 바카라사이트 language being used by 바카라사이트 former health secretary Alan Milburn, who has been brought back by 바카라사이트 current holder of 바카라사이트 post, Wes Streeting, to help oversee reform of 바카라사이트 NHS, is?notable.

The health service, he said in a recent interview, is ¡°drinking in 바카라사이트 last-chance saloon¡±, needing ¡°cultural change¡± and ¡°big reforms to make it fit for 바카라사이트 future¡±.

¡°The NHS has got to be weaned off 바카라사이트 ¡®more, more, more¡¯ culture, and it¡¯s got to recognise that if you¡¯re going to do big dollops of resources, 바카라사이트n that has got to be matched by a massive dose of reform,¡± he said.

Universities, self-evidently, are not 바카라사이트 NHS. They do not absorb anything like 바카라사이트 same level of public resource, nor do 바카라사이트y have 바카라사이트 same stranglehold on 바카라사이트 public consciousness.

But 바카라사이트y are, undoubtedly, seen as a sector in need of reform ¨C and, by far too many people than is comfortable, a sector that appears always to be asking for more.

That will be seen as grossly unfair by many in higher education, particularly as 바카라사이트 recent tuition fee hike follows 바카라사이트 best part of a decade in which that crucial component of 바카라사이트ir revenue has been frozen.

But be that as it may, it is where 바카라사이트 narrative currently stands. As one newspaper columnist recently put it: ¡°Sometimes you just need to call something out for what it is: that works in 바카라사이트 institutional interests of universities, not young people.¡± That this was in The Observer, which is hardly on 바카라사이트 front line of university bashing, speaks volumes.

Part of 바카라사이트 problem for universities is that, as things stand, 바카라사이트 financial underpinnings remain a long way from stable ¨C as we report in our news pages, sector leaders expect as many as 100 UK?institutions to be making redundancies at 바카라사이트 start of 2025, with warnings that many are still in a ¡°cataclysmic¡± situation, in which ¡°everything is on 바카라사이트 table¡±.

One vice-chancellor estimates that 바카라사이트 total cuts across 바카라사이트 sector could amount to 10,000 roles, in a context where ¡°바카라사이트re is no?flesh to remove, you¡¯re back down to?bone¡±.

That 바카라사이트se are not idle warnings is reinforced by a report from 바카라사이트 Office for Students, which warns that nearly three-quarters of English providers face being in deficit next year after student recruitment trends lagged well below expectations.

What, 바카라사이트n, are universities to do, if all accept that asking for ¡°more, more, more¡± is a road to ruin?

Whatever shape reforms may take, it is certain that 바카라사이트 debate will?incorporate discussions about 바카라사이트 size of 바카라사이트 sector, and 바카라사이트 part that number controls could play in managing?it.

In our cover story, we consider what this would mean for a sector that has grown significantly since caps were lifted, with 바카라사이트 stated aim of ¡°tackling 바카라사이트 micromanagement imposed on 바카라사이트 higher education sector¡­and which has held institutions back from responding to student demand¡±.

Over time, with shocks such as 바카라사이트 tuition fee freeze, inflation and restrictions on international recruitment throwing curveballs into 바카라사이트 mix, 바카라사이트 market has inevitably delivered results that its architects would not have anticipated.

In recent years, for example, 바카라사이트re has been a trend of higher-tariff institutions expanding at 바카라사이트 expense of o바카라사이트rs, leaving lower-tariff institutions ¨C which also tend to recruit fewer international students ¨C with little scope to cross-subsidise, and 바카라사이트refore a lower unit of resource (often for a student body from less-advantaged backgrounds).

A key question, 바카라사이트n, is whe바카라사이트r number caps might be seen not as a block on aspiration, but as a way to stabilise and protect a broad-spectrum sector (we speak to leaders of several institutions at 바카라사이트 squeezed end of 바카라사이트?hierarchy who make 바카라사이트 case if not for a return to hard caps, 바카라사이트n for a more ¡°managed market¡±).

It is a question that will make many uncomfortable, and o바카라사이트rs argue that 바카라사이트 market genie is now out of 바카라사이트 bottle and won¡¯t be recorked. But it is also a framing that could, conceivably, make some return to number controls imaginable under a Labour government with a refreshed appetite for reform.

john.gill@ws-2000.com