Willetts condemns lack of support for part-time students

David Willetts described the lack of support available to part-time students as "indefensible" after a new report claimed nine out of ten such students receive no financial assistance from the Government.

David, the Shadow Universities and Skills Secretary, praised the Policy Exchange report for being a "useful contribution to the debate".

And he said, "Ministers talk a great deal about widening access to university but their words sound hollow. They are doing nothing to improve the regime for part-time students, who tend to come from more disadvantaged backgrounds, and have even cut help for people wishing to retrain at a university."

With a third of undergraduates studying part time, David stressed, "The Government must urgently establish an independent student finance review that covers part-time funding in its terms of reference. This is more important than ever as the economy rebalances during the recession."