Tuition fees are set to rise to £9,250 per year from 2017, with the increase possibly applying to students already at university, universities minister Jo Johnson announced today.

The increase in the maximum fee cap is tied to forecasted inflation, and institutions that ‘meet expectations’ under the Government’s new ‘Teaching Excellence Framework’ will have the right to charge £9,250.

The current list of proposed institutions deemed as possessing the right to implement the new fee cap includes Cambridge, Oxford, and LSE.

It has been reported that fees will remain tied to inflation in future, which could see them top £10,000 leading into the next parliament.

In a written statement, Johnson said that the new cap related to: “all new students and eligible continuing students who started their full-time courses on or after 1st September 2012.”

However, whether the fee increase applies will be dependent upon the contracts signed by students with their respective universities.

Some universities, including Durham and Kent, have already elicited criticism for raising their prospective fees on their websites before the plans have been fully considered.

Both Cambridge and Oxford only list fees for the 2016-2017 academic year.

However, Cambridge’s policy on tuition fees states that for home and EU students that have already matriculated “the annual fee is fixed upon year of entry, subject to the notes provided”.

Responding to the announcement, the Liberal Democrats have said that they will force a vote in parliament in an attempt to prevent fees rising above £9,000, and the National Union of Students (NUS) have announced that they will hold a protest demonstration in November.

Angela Rayner, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, said: “The Tories are letting down young people. First they trebled tuition fees saddling students with debt, now they’ve confirmed they’re set up to do so again.”

“These further increases in fees will be a barrier to aspiration, making it even more difficult for those from low and middle-income families to get the best education they deserve.”

University fees were initially trebled in 2011 under a Conservative-led coalition government.