Students have continually opposed the plans

Peter Bradley is "very encouraged" by talks with ministers over the issue.

More than 150 Labour MPs are opposed to the plan to allow universities to charge up to �3,000 a year for courses.

Education Secretary Charles Clarke will publish detailed plans on Thursday and says claims the government would allow fees of �15,000 a year are "absurd".

The bill will allow universities from 2006 to charge variable tuition fees of up to �3,000 a year, repayable when graduates earn �15,000.

Mr Bradley says it is "quite possible" a deal can be done to address concerns about allowing variable fees.

'Wait and see'

The MP, also parliamentary private secretary to Countryside Minister Alun Michael, said: "I think it is quite possible the government will come forward with a package this week which will address many of my concerns and those of my colleagues.

I have been very encouraged with the way ministers have engaged with the ideas we have put forward Peter Bradley

"I have been very encouraged with the way ministers have engaged with the ideas we have put forward. We will have to wait and see the fruit of their deliberations."

Mr Bradley said he was concerned that poorer universities would be forced to charge the maximum of �3,000 a year because they could not afford not to.

Mr Bradley conceded that tuition fees were inevitable if higher education was to be improved and access widened.

He urged the government to consider putting all the cash raised from top-up fees into a central pot which could be shared among universities.

Warning

Mr Clarke has written to leading rebel and former chief whip Nick Brown saying it is "frankly absurd" that ministers would sanction fees of �15,000 a year.

Rebels worry the initial �3,000 cap on fees could be soon be abandoned in line as some university vice-chancellors want to charge more.

In his letter to Mr Brown, the education secretary says the level of bursaries on offer could make some students from lower income backgrounds even better off on the very best courses.

No poorer student will have to increase their debt to get on the top courses and the limit will act as a safeguard, he argues.

Mr Brown has told the BBC he would be prepared to oppose the government on the issue of variable fees in his first vote against the Labour whip since entering Parliament.

He is among the Labour backbenchers and several former ministers who fear the fees may deter students from poorer backgrounds from going to the best institutions.

At the weekend Home Secretary David Blunkett called on former cabinet colleagues not to oppose university top-up fees in order to damage Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Writing in the Sunday Times, he warned ex-Cabinet members it was not the time for "grandstanding".

Deterrent?

Newspaper reports suggest rebels may be offered concessions to get the Higher Education Bill through the Commons. These could include writing off the debt after 25 years and bigger grants for poorer students,

Mr Blunkett, a former education secretary, did not name the colleagues he had in mind.

But his message has been interpreted as being directed to allies of Chancellor Gordon Brown, such as Mr Brown, Clare Short and Frank Dobson.

They claim the variable rate charged for different courses could cause a "two-tier" system.

Conservative leader Michael Howard has also said he has "grave reservations" about tuition fees, but says he is reviewing his party's anti-fees policy.