A NUMBER of English universities have announced plans to charge more than the current £9,000 tuition fee limit next year, before the Government has officially given the green light.

Under proposals still to be laid before Parliament, institutions offering high-quality teaching would be able to raise fees in line with inflation in autumn 2017.

The universities of Durham, Kent and Royal Holloway are already listing tuition fees on their websites as £9,250 for students starting undergraduate courses next September.

There are references to the fee changes being subject to "inflationary change" or subject to Government confirmation.

Sixth-formers intending to go to university next year will begin applying for courses after the summer break.

Liberal Democrat education spokesman John Pugh told the BBC that announcing a higher level of fees of £9,250 was "disgraceful arrogance from some universities", adding that proposals to raise fees were "not a done deal".

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU) said: "Universities advertising increased fees before the law has even been changed is just another blight on the sorry debacle that is the Government's plan for higher education."

Plans to tie teaching quality to tuition fees were first announced by then Chancellor George Osborne in last year's summer budget.

The Government later announced it planned to create a new "teaching excellence framework" to measure teaching quality in universities.

These reforms are due to be laid before Parliament in the autumn, a Government spokeswoman said.

Ministers have previously said that as of the start of the 2017/18 academic year institutions with high-quality teaching will be able to increase their tuition fees in line with inflation at a rate of 2.8 per cent.

During Tuesday's Commons debate on a Higher Education and Research Bill going through parliament, Education Secretary Justine Greening said: "What we are saying to high-quality providers is you can access fees up to an inflation-linked maximum fee cap if, and only if, you can demonstrate that you are providing high-quality teaching and you have an agreed access and participation plan in place."

Ms Greening said the Bill will allow fee caps to be set below the maximum level in order to reflect varying levels of teaching quality.

Those providers not meeting set standards of excellence will have to charge less than the maximum.

But shadow education minister Gordon Marsden claimed the changes would allow almost all universities to raise tuition fees, adding they were being handed a "cash-in coupon".

He added there is "potential for significant rises in fee costs" following Britain's decision to exit the EU as there are no guarantees about the rate of inflation in the coming years.

A Kent University spokesman said: "The Minister Jo Johnson has announced to Parliament the inflationary fee amount of 2.8 per cent which will apply to uplifts in fee caps for 2017-18, where higher education providers achieve a rating of 'meets expectations' under the Teaching Excellence Framework.

"The University has published the higher fee on the website in order to ensure that both potential students and existing students are provided with as much notice as possible and to comply with CMA guidelines."

In a statement, Durham University said: "On 25 May 2016, the Minister of State for Universities and Science announced to Parliament that an inflationary rate of 2.8 per cent would apply to uplifts in home/EU tuition fee caps for 2017-18 where higher education providers achieve a rating of 'meets expectations' under the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).

"Subsequently, the Office for Fair Access (Offa) asked universities to confirm their provisional fees in their 2017/18 Access Agreement.

"Durham University has received confirmation from the Department for Business Innovation & Skills that we meet the first year expectations of the TEF.

"The University Executive Committee and the Finance & General Purposes Committee therefore agreed and reported to University Council last week the University's intention to implement an inflationary fee increase.

"To meet our obligations under Competition and Markets Authority legislation we are required to provide comprehensive and transparent information to applicants, including in relation to fees, on the University website and at pre-application Open Days (which in our case were held in June 2016).

"To ensure that we are CMA compliant this requires indicating that we intend to set a fee of £9,250 to incoming home/EU undergraduate students in 2017/18."

Royal Holloway said: "Royal Holloway, University of London has been clear to prospective students that any increase in fees for entry in 2017/18 is subject to ministerial approval.

"Those young people are making decisions about their future now.

"By providing them with the best possible information we have at this time, our goal is to protect them from unwelcome surprises should an increase in the coming months be approved.

"Our university was founded on the principles of access to knowledge and education for all who can benefit.

"We remain true to those principles and offer an extensive range of financial support, scholarships and bursaries to scholars who need it most."

A spokesman for the Department for Education said: "The ability to maintain fees in line with inflation has been in place since 2004, and is subject to regulations. This is not part of the Higher Education and Research Bill.

"The Teaching Excellence Framework will allow universities to maintain fees in line with inflation only if they meet a quality bar, as set out in the recent Higher Education White Paper."