Responding to this morning’s announcement of a further £200 million of cuts to higher education funding in England, Professor Steve Smith, President of Universities UK said: “Universities are already dealing with the impact of over £1 billion of cuts announced by the previous government since last December. A further £200 million of in-year cuts will make the task of meeting student demand this summer, and not compromising on the quality of the student experience, even harder.

“There may still be concerns that the planned additional student places for this year have been cut from 20,000 to 10,000 but what is critical is the need for funding per-student to be maintained. That is the only way we can hope to maintain the world-leading position of the UK’s higher education system. This latest round of cuts comprises a reduction in the Modernisation Fund from £250m to £132m and a further £82m reduction in core funding. This £82m reduction represents a further 2% cut in the teaching grant and, against a background of rising demand for places and rising student expectations, it will represent a tough settlement for universities.

“We have three core messages: first, that this reduction must be seen in the context of the overall package of baseline reductions which now total some £1.13bn; second, this makes the June 22 budget and this autumn's CSR (Comprehensive Spending Review) of absolutely critical importance to the future health of the HE sector; thirdly, it is vital that the government implements the recommendations of the Browne Review fully and as early as possible. We cannot afford for higher education to face a valley of death in funding, as public spending falls and a Browne Review that cannot be accepted by Parliament.”

ENDS