Journalism: Higher Education — Written Question

Question

Mr Angus MacDonald

Liberal Democrat — Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on the potential fiscal implications of ending Strategic Priorities Grant funding for journalism courses.

Answer

Darren Jones

My department regularly discusses Strategic Priorities Grant funding and its fiscal implications with the Department for Education. As a result of the challenging fiscal context that we inherited, we are prioritising support for high-cost subjects that are essential to delivery of our industrial strategy – such as science, engineering and medicine – and core funding to support access to higher education for disadvantaged groups. It is important that the targeted funding allocated through the Strategic Priorities Grant supports provision of subjects that have higher costs of delivery and the key sectors set out in the Industrial Strategy.