The paper makes clear the government's commitment to protecting state-funded schools and FE colleges and sets out the institutions for which it will cover the increase to employer contributions in the financial year 2019/20.
The DfE estimates the overall increased costs to be a staggering £1.1 billion in 2019/20, split across four sectors:
Sector |
2019/20 cost (£m) |
State-funded schools |
830 |
Independent schools |
110 |
Further Education |
80 |
Higher Education |
80 |
Whilst the HE sector is not one which the DfE proposes to support, the consultation document should not be ignored. A response is also sought from unsupported sectors, including HE, to enable the government to gain a fuller understanding of the impact of the changes and "inform any mitigations [the government] may wish to put in place".
The impact on HEIs is specifically referred to at paragraph 4.13 of the document. This consultation affords HEIs an opportunity to make clear how the change will affect them individually.
The consultation period is very short - responses must be submitted by 12 February 2019 on the DfE website.
Whether "any mitigations" will be considered for the HE sector is perhaps hopeful but the opportunity to respond should nevertheless be utilised.