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15 July 2008 : Column 65WH—continued
“Our universities are recognised internationally. But we limit their potential if we have too much regulation or the wrong sort of regulation...Now that we have a Department for Universities for the first time ever—a welcome change in many ways—there is a clear risk that ministers will be tempted to meddle more and consult less. We need a new approach that recognises that universities are grown-up institutions that should be able to set their own priorities and speak to Government on an equal basis.”
So, were a Conservative Minister standing here, I am not sure that the hon. Member for East Devon would get an answer that was different to the one that I am giving him.
It follows from that line of reasoning that there is no basis in law on which the Government could, or indeed should, have sought to obstruct the relocation of the faculty of education from Exmouth to Plymouth. It would not be appropriate for me or the hon. Gentleman to criticise a decision that the university authorities believed to be in the best interests of their institution, its staff and its students.
That brings me to the second issue that the closure of Rolle college campus raises, which is about the use to which the Rolle college site should be put now that it is no longer needed for teacher training. The hon. Gentleman asked about that issue on 25 June during Prime Minister’s questions and claimed that my view was that the site should simply be sold to the highest bidder. That is not my view, and I have been at pains to make that clear during our discussions, communications and correspondence. My view is that to whom and for how much the site should be sold is a matter not for this House, but for the university’s board of governors, provided that it acts in accordance with the statutes of the university and the law of the land.
The hon. Gentleman’s opinion is that the Rolle college site should be given over to providing post-16 education, which is a perfectly valid opinion, and I welcome any measure that would provide improved education and training facilities for the young people of Devon. The answer that the Prime Minister gave to the hon. Gentleman on 25 June set out clearly the huge improvements that
have taken place within Devon as a local authority area within the past 10 years, and those have been replicated within East Devon. I will be happy, following the debate, to write in detail to the hon. Gentleman, setting out some of the improvements that have taken place, which compare enormously favourably with what took place prior to 1997.
Should the Government now decide to intervene to secure the Rolle site for educational use? I will answer that question with another. By what right and under what power would the hon. Gentleman suggest that we do so? We are neither unsympathetic nor unwilling to use our good offices to help the parties involved reach an agreement. The Prime Minister has offered to consider any proposal that the hon. Gentleman wishes to make. My former colleague at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, Lord Triesman, as the hon. Gentleman said, met a delegation led by himself to discuss that issue towards the end of last year, as did the Minister for the South West. The hon. Member for East Devon has corresponded on the issue with me on a number of occasion, and also with the Minister for Schools and Learners. I know that the Learning and Skills Council, which is sponsored by my Department, has also been actively involved in trying to find a mutually satisfactory solution.
I need to be clear that we are not and cannot be talking about a fire sale. In today’s real estate market, the Rolle college campus still has a substantial value. The proceeds of its eventual sale will undoubtedly benefit the university of Plymouth, and that in turn will mean a better standard of higher education for the people of the south-west. In those circumstances, it would be difficult for university authorities to justify a decision to sell off the campus at a knock-down price. It is therefore a matter for the university, East Devon district council and Devon county council to work together to find a solution.
I shall be clear that this is not a matter over which I, as the Minister for Higher Education, have authority, and perhaps this is where I can indicate a potentially constructive way forward. Even if I wanted to, I cannot dictate to the university how it should act in these circumstances. Nevertheless, I understand the case that the hon. Gentleman is putting forward for a desired outcome from an educational perspective within his constituency.
Although I can give no guarantees and have no control over the outcome, I am prepared to talk once again to the university authorities, the Learning and Skills Council, the local education authority and the district council to see whether there is some way that the matter can be taken forward. I cannot guarantee the outcome of that discussion, because ultimately the university of Plymouth has an absolute right to make that decision. Nevertheless, given the concern, I am willing to engage in those discussions and happy to report back to the hon. Gentleman on the outcome.
Adjourned accordingly at one minute to Two o’clock.
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