The government says its proposals are fairer for all

But how will they work in practice, and do the government's figures add up?

The government says the poorest full-time undergraduates will qualify for a grant of �1,500 from 2006.

And they will not have to pay the first �1,200 of fees - known as "fee remission".

So maximum state support is �2,700.

Access regulator

It says that where their university decides to charge the maximum �3,000 a year tuition fee for their course, they will not have to take out any additional loan to meet this.

Instead the new regulator, the Office for Fair Access (Offa), will expect them to receive financial support of �300 - at least - from the university, bringing the total support up to �3,000.

The government says that to provide the minimum �300 bursary for courses of �3,000, no university would have to use more than 10% of its additional fee income - even those with the highest percentage of students from the poorest backgrounds.

To those who have, more will be given ... Richard Allanach, University of East London

A spokesperson for the vice-chancellors' organisation, Universities UK, said: "It is too early to say at this stage what the details of institutions' bursary schemes will be.

"Universities UK will be working with government over the coming months to encourage good practice, helping to ensure that students from lower income backgrounds are given appropriate additional support for their studies."

But the divisions among universities in their attitudes to the government's plans can be seen on this issue too.

At the University of East London, some 44% of students are poor enough to qualify for the maximum support.

The university had hoped there would be a national bursary scheme rather than what the finance director, Richard Allanach, calls the "lottery" of local schemes.

He points to the University of Cambridge, which is planning to offer bursaries to all those on family incomes of less than �30,000.

"For many of our students, �30,000 is not a hardship, it's an aspiration," he said.

"It may be we have eight or 10 times as many students who would be eligible for a bursary, so far more of what we would raise in top-up fees would have to be paid out."

Winners and losers

A 10% limit would help, leaving the university with 90% of the extra income - but Cambridge would be getting more like 99%, he said.

It moves him to a Biblical quotation: "To those who have, more will be given, from them that have not, even that which they have will be taken away."

He is also concerned about the potential for fraud, if students claim they are entitled to bursaries - because universities are not geared up to checking.

Mr Allanach has not given up hope of the plans being amended in Parliament.

Total impact

But another university with an almost identical proportion of working class students, Wolverhampton, is happy with what is proposed.

Its vice-chancellor, Professor John Brooks, said his concern was with the total package as it affected students, for whom fees was only one consideration.

"For the majority of my students, their education will be free," he said.

The extra income would allow him to improve facilities and meet salary bills - a growing concern.

But the immediate difficulty was trying to plan ahead, uncertain as to how many students might rush to begin courses before fees go up, then how many might be deterred when they do.

Fee assumptions

It is not known yet how much universities will charge for their courses - most have been waiting for the details of the government's plans before making decisions.

In the Commons, the Education Secretary, Charles Clarke, said: "Universities will be able to vary fees from �0 to �3,000 - but fees can vary between courses, not just between universities.

And he said: "Variability remains key. We do not agree that a substantially higher fixed fee would be the way to raise additional resources. It would be deeply damaging.

"We would be denying universities the freedom to incentivise industrial, vocational, scientific, technical, engineering and sandwich courses, or foundation degrees, which are vital for the economic future of this country."

But the government's costings assume that three-quarters of universities will charge the maximum �3,000 fee across the board, and that the rest will continue to charge the present �1,125.

On that basis, it says, universities' total fee income would rise by �1bn from the present �800m.

The proposed bursaries would cost up to 10% of this.

But also, the enhanced grant to students will cost the government about �420m a year, and it says it will find a third of this "from reprioritising existing resources".