Low expectations

The UK’s financial black hole may be bigger than imagined. So what next for universities?

What to expect when you are expecting public service cuts? There have been so many kites flown in advance of Thursday’s autumn statement that it is hard to know what to believe anymore.

Yesterday, an obviously well-briefed Financial Times suggested that the gap in Britain’s public finances is around £70 billion bigger than previously thought, half of which is the result of increased borrowing costs. The Office for Budget Responsibility estimates that a worse economic outlook will raise government borrowing close to £100bn in 2026-27, the paper reported.