Lib Dems: 50 per cent target fatuous

The government's target of getting half of all young people aged between 17 and 30 into higher education has been dismissed as "fatuous" by the Liberal Democrats.

Universities spokesperson Stephen Williams pointed out the target was unworkable because of the huge differences between schools sending all of their pupils to university and those which send "none at all".

The government acknowledges this but minister John Denham, making a speech on the issue at the University of Warwick, is expected to argue the debate about which extreme to tackle is "corrosive of public confidence in the system".

Mr Williams says the problem "just shows that Britain is not fair under Labour", however.

"Greater attention should be paid to getting more young people from less privileged backgrounds into university," he commented.