Grant letter sets out university budgets

The Higher Education Funding Council for England will have nearly £1.6 billion to spend on quality-related research in financial year 2012-13, its annual grant letter from the government reveals. It will also be required to make considerable efficiency savings from its QR funding pot—£45 million in 2012-13, £73m in 2013-14 and £104m in 2014-15. Capital research spending—the only part of HEFCE’s science spend that is not protected by a ring fence—is likely to be hit in the years ahead, dropping from £204 million in 2011-12 to £175m in 2012-13 and just £101m in 2013-14 but will increase again to £156m in 2014-15.