One of Britain’s most globally successful industries is under financial pressure. More than a third of higher education institutions are running at a loss, a handful are at risk of government bailout and some have had to shed staff and courses. While Labour’s recent decision to allow a small increase in university tuition fees in England to £9,535 a year is not a complete solution, it sent a signal that the government is listening to the sector.

Universities are part of a delicate post-18 education system, and they cannot be considered in isolation. Encouragingly, this gesture was one of a series of steps in the right direction. It started with the creation of Skills England just weeks after the general election. This new arm’s-length government body will administer the growth and skills fund, a levy on large employers now extended to other forms of training as well as apprenticeships.

Then came further education. Although recent Conservative governments raised the profile of technical and vocational education through a modest capital injection and reforms to qualifications, real-terms funding for further education still remains at 2004 levels. This denies opportunity to the more than half of young people who don’t go to university, prevents older adults from re-skilling and is part of the reason the country has an alarming skills gap.The sector has historically been neglected in Westminster, and it is extremely rare for it to get a mention from the chancellor. But there it was in the autumn........

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