Image: Richard Townshend, [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Shadow minister says universities forced to set budgets in the dark without a safety net
Universities will be forced to set budgets “in the dark” in the absence of a more comprehensive support package from the government, shadow universities minister Emma Hardy has warned.
In an open letter to students and staff, published exclusively on Research Professional News on 6 May, Hardy said she was “very disappointed” that the government had “rejected” the full set of proposals put forward by vice-chancellors’ body Universities UK to help ease the financial pressure on universities.
UUK had warned that some universities risked financial collapse due to the sudden drop in income from international students, citing a potential income cut of £6.9 billion, and it had asked for a series of funds to prop up institutions during the pandemic.
Instead, the government promised an early tuition fee payout of £2.6 billion and brought forward £100 million of quality-related research funding—just 5 per cent of what UUK had originally asked for.
Hardy said bringing forward the early payment of student fees alone “does nothing to address the underlying loss of income in the long term and consequently universities are being forced to set budgets in the dark without a safety net”.
Hardy also warned that “difficult decisions will have to be made on insufficient data” as a result.
“This will be creating added anxiety and stress for staff, many of whom have been living with the precarious nature of short-term contracts for some time,” she wrote.
She also stressed that no university should be allowed to go bust as they play a vital role in their communities, which will increase as more people look to reskill. “Universities have a vital role to play not just during this crisis, and not just in healthcare, but in rebuilding and retraining the country afterwards.”
Hardy’s full letter can be read here.