The Higher Education Funding Council for England will continue in its present role, its quinquennial review has concluded. The review looked at the possibility of abolishing HEFCE, privatising some or all of its functions and merging it with the Further Education Funding Council. However it recommended that HEFCE and the FEFC should look at carrying out particular activities jointly, and that ministers should consider widening membership of the HEFCE board. The review also revealed that last year it cost Pounds 9.5 million to run HEFCE, which allocated Pounds 3.5 billion to institutions.