University fees in England to rise next autumn for first time in eight years

The move is likely to be deeply unpopular with current and future students, who were once told by Labour that tuition fees would be scrapped. Photograph: Chris Ison/PA

University tuition fees in England are to go up for the first time in eight years, taking annual payments up to a record £9,535 per student, the government has announced.

The inflation-linked increase, which comes into force in the next academic year, was approved by ministers after warnings of a deepening financial crisis in the university sector, where the value of tuition fees has crumbled after being capped at £9,250 since 2017.