<P> In response to the findings, the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 was published on 26 November 1997, and enacted on 16 July 1998, part of which introduced tuition fees in all the countries of the United Kingdom . The act introduced a means - tested method of payment for students based on the amount of money their families earned . Starting with 1999 - 2000, maintenance grants for living expenses would also be replaced with loans and paid back at a rate of 9 percent of a graduate's income above £ 10,000 . </P> <P> Following devolution in 1999, the newly devolved governments in Scotland and Wales brought in their own acts on tuition fees . The Scottish Parliament established, and later abolished a graduate endowment to replace the fees . Wales introduced maintenance grants of up to £ 1,500 in 2002, a value which has since risen to over £ 5000 . </P> <P> In England, tuition fee caps rose with the Higher Education Act 2004 . Under the Act, universities in England could begin to charge variable fees of up to £ 3000 a year for students enrolling on courses as from the academic year of 2006 - 07 or later . This was also introduced in Northern Ireland in 2006 - 07 and introduced in Wales in 2007 - 08 . In 2009 - 10 the cap rose to £ 3225 a year to take account of inflation . Following the Browne Review in 2010, the cap was controversially raised to £ 9,000 a year, sparking large student protests in London . A judicidal review against the raised fees failed in 2012, and so the new fee system came into use that September . </P> <P> Students pay interest on loans . In 2012 this rate was set at the retail price index (RPI) plus 3% . Students who started university between 1998 and 2011 pay Bank of England base rate plus 1% . Students who started university before 1998 pay interest set at the RPI rate . As a consequence of the 2012 change, students who graduate in 2017 will pay 6.1% interest, despite the Bank of England base rate being 0.25% . </P>

When did university fees increase to £9000