Tuition fees in England are expected to exceed £10,000 by the end of this Parliament, according to a report in the Financial Times.

An announcement that English university tuition fees will continue to grow with rising inflation is now expected to appear next year in the Labour government’s spending review.

This comes after a source told the FT that Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has a clear “direction of travel” in terms of inflation-linked fees, though a final decision is yet to be made.

Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK, a group for higher education providers, commented: “Creating the expectation that undergraduate fees rise with inflation every year” is “essential” to ensure “stability” and “better financial management of universities”.

The Department for Education claims that the government made “tough decisions”, adding that they were committed to “restoring universities as engines of opportunity, growth and aspiration”.

A government official said the fee increases will contribute to “significant reform,” including improving access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Some analysts have warned that the rise in employers’ national insurance contributions (NIC), announced in the budget and coming into effect in April, will absorb much of the revenue raised by the fee increase. In fact, the Institute for Fiscal Studies calculated that next year’s fee raise will generate £390m in extra funding for universities, but after accounting for higher NIC costs, which are estimated at £372m, there will only be an £18m net gain for universities’ coffers.

This report follows the government’s announcement in September that tuition fees will rise from £9,250 to £9,535 for the 2025-2026 academic year. The University of Cambridge supported this increase, as did other Russell Group universities.

The FT derives their £10,000 figure from projecting future increases in line with inflation, which the Office for Budget Responsibility predicts will exceed 2% – the Bank of England’s target – until 2028.