Thank you again, Presiding Officer, for the opportunity to speak to this legislative consent motion. I would also like to thank members of the Children, Young People and Education Committee for their scrutiny of the initial and supplementary memorandum. Additionally, I would like to record my appreciation of the engagement by Universities Wales, NUS Wales and the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales with this matter.

The UK Government introduced the Higher Education and Research Bill to the House of Commons on 19 May 2016. The Bill subsequently transferred to the House of Lords where it passed its Second Reading on 6 December, before proceeding to Committee Stage, where it was subject to significant debate. Higher education is a devolved matter. However, legislative change proposed by the UK Government in this area inevitably has implications for Wales. In seeking provision in this Bill, my priority is to ensure that students and institutions in Wales are not disadvantaged. I consider that limited provision should be made for Wales in relation to the matters set out in the two memoranda for which consent of the Assembly is required.

I’m pleased to note that the scrutiny committee did not raise any objections to the agreement of the motion and has no concerns with the approach being taken. The committee reported that a number of concerns were raised in consultation responses. Nevertheless, the committee concluded that the consultation did not raise any matter that impacts on whether the policies contained in the relevant provisions should be extended to Wales.

I should like to respond to the two topics of concern, namely the teaching excellence framework, or TEF, as it has become known, and the interaction with tuition fees in Wales. I not only recognise but I also share some of the concerns with regard to the TEF proposals. They are not the criteria that this Welsh Government would put forward as, to be frank, we do not share the same marketisation agenda that they have across the border. However, we have to deal with the realities that we face.

The Welsh Government is committed to the local, national and international success of our higher education institutions, and we do not therefore want Welsh institutions to be at a disadvantage in comparison to those in the rest of the UK. The provision being sought in the Bill is enabling, and will give Welsh Ministers the power to provide or withdraw consent for Welsh institutions to participate in the TEF in the future. But let me be absolutely clear: tuition fees will not be linked to TEF ratings in Wales, and I have made it clear to the UK Government that I don’t want to see the ability to recruit international students linked to TEF either.

The Welsh Government will continue to set tuition fee levels to its own criteria, taking account of financial stability, how we maintain our international competitiveness, and the impact on students. I believe that the proposals will enable us to keep our distinct approach to higher education while ensuring that institutions in Wales, the students who study at them and the Welsh Ministers’ ability to deal with the implications of the UK Government’s reforms are not adversely impacted. I therefore, Presiding Officer, ask Assembly Members to support the legislative consent motion.