Scottish universities could fall behind their English counterparts as a result of a new Westminster blueprint for improving higher education south of the Border, a former principal of Edinburgh University told The Times.

The warning, from Lord Sutherland of Houndwood, came yesterday as Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, announced a 10-year strategy which suggested that universities in England may be able to charge higher fees — but only if they improve the experience offered to students and make a more explicit contribution to Britain’s economy.

Lord Mandelson said that students should be entitled to full details on the quality of teaching and academic support. At the same time, vice chancellors should be given a new responsibility for filling skills gaps in the economy, particularly in science and technology. The twin emphasis on student entitlement and business needs, will define the role of universities for the next decade, he added.

Lord Sutherland said that the plan had the potential to boost the funding of English universities, particularly the most prestigious, thus enabling them to attract a higher calibre of academics. But it could adversely affect Scottish universities by drawing more funds towards their English counterparts, and making access to them more attractive to students. The former head of Universities Scotland said that there were three proposals which could affect Scotland — a potential rise in the cap in tuition fees, a concentration of funding in top-flight universities, and a drive to improve access to universities.

Lord Mandelson has made plain that public spending on higher education faces “constraints” in the coming years, leaving business and students to make a higher contribution, supplemented by universities seeking philanthropic support and more earnings from overseas students.

Later this month he will launch a review that is expected to lead to the lifting of the cap on variable tuition fees, which have risen in line with inflation since they were capped at £3,000 in 2004. Many English vice chancellors want the upper limit to rise to between £5,000 and £7,000 a year.

“This will significantly affect Scotland as it will raise the level of funding available in the south,” Lord Sutherland said. “It means their institutions will be able to headhunt quality staff, offering very well-resourced laboratories compared to here.”

The blueprint also states that taxpayer funding of higher education research will be concentrated on fewer universities which can demonstrate world class capability. It means that institutions less associated with research but which excel in a handful of disciplines will lose out unless they collaborate with established research centres. It could also leave Scottish universities behind.

“The implication is that the best universities in England, which are the top of the class in the world, will have more concentrated resources available to them – and that will put extra pressure on other universities,” said Lord Sutherland.

The third proposal which could improve the higher education sector in England beyond that in Scotland, he said, was the move to increase participation among those from disadvantaged backgrounds who would not normally attend university. This would serve to attract the most capable students, regardless of their background as “talent is not postcoded”.

Lord Mandelson accused the most selective institutions of failing to make sufficient progress, with only “modest” increases in numbers of underprivileged students. He has commissioned a four month review of the access programmes by such universities, to be headed by Sir Martin Harris, head of the Office of Fair Access which monitors admissions. This will consider whether the focus on offering bursaries to fund poor students should be replaced with more imaginative policies.

Lord Sutherland renewed calls for the Scottish government to consider the reintroduction of tuition fees to redistribute the cash on grants for disadvantaged applicants. All the major Holyrood parties oppose tuition fees. A Scottish government spokesman said that a real-terms increase of 2.1 per cent in funding for Scottish universities had been published in the draft Budget in September.

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