The Higher Education Funding Council
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) distributes public money for teaching and research to universities and colleges. In doing so, it aims to promote high quality education and research, within a financially healthy sector. The Council also plays a key role in ensuring accountability and promoting good practice.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) distributes public money to universities and colleges in England that provide higher education. Most of this goes to the 130 universities and higher education colleges in England. We do not provide grants or loans for individual students. Information on the amount of funding we allocate is available under Finance & assurance.
Some HEFCE funds support higher education courses in 124 directly-funded further education colleges, but the main funding body for further education is the Learning and Skills Council. Grants for universities and colleges in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are allocated by their own funding bodies.
Our funds support four main areas of activity by universities and colleges, which are reflected in our strategic aims and in the Government's White Paper, 'The future of higher education'.
HEFCE was set up by the Government in 1992 as a 'non-departmental public body. This means that we work within a policy framework set by the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, but we are not part of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills – DIUS (formerly the Department for Education and Skills or DfES). We have distinct statutory duties that are free from direct political control.
The broad policy framework we work within is set out in the Management Statement between the DIUS and HEFCE. The terms and conditions under which the DIUS makes funds available to us so that we can carry out our duties is set out in the Financial Memorandum between DIUS and HEFCE. Both documents are revised periodically; the most recent versions can be downloaded below.
What we do - at a glance
provide guidance on good practice.
