THE Government is up to its ears in debt and already the Tories are talking about cuts in expenditure. The Government, on the other hand, says nothing about cuts at the moment, but it has its ways and means.

We now learn that under Government proposals potential university students whose families cannot afford the tuition fees could live at home and get free tuition and so save about £10,000.

They will, however, not be able to claim government financial support worth up to £25,000 over a three-year degree – a Government saving, or cut, of £15,000.

The student will get a degree from “the near to home university” instead of cutting the “apron strings” and getting a degree from, say, Oxford or Cambridge.

How much weight will “a near to home” degree carry compared to a degree from a national university when it comes to seeking employment? The answer is, I suggest, quite plain.

It all goes to prove that one cannot trust the Government when it keeps silent about the possibility of cuts.

John W Antill, Darlington.