Unions demand Edinburgh University bosses grilled over 'irresponsible' £140m cuts plan

A committee of MSPs has been urged to summon Edinburgh University bosses for a grilling over their controversial plan to slash £140 million from spending.

The Scotsman can reveal a letter has been sent by the joint trade unions at the prestigious institution to the education committee of the Scottish Parliament.

It follows a “jaw dropping” evidence session at the committee earlier this month, during which Dundee University chiefs were quizzed on the institution’s ongoing financial crisis.

The unions - Unison, Unite and UCU - claim there are “many parallels” between Dundee and Edinburgh universities in terms of “failures of planning, governance and transparency and accountability”.

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The letter said: “At UoE [University of Edinburgh], we have seen overspending in a number of areas, including excessive capital spending and on expensive and poorly planned IT projects.

“The scale of the proposed cuts raise serious questions about the role of governance bodies and their capacity to effectively scrutinize the financial plans and decisions of UoE management in recent years. “

Sir Peter Mathieson, the university’s principal, recently revealed “nothing is off the table” as part of efforts to try to repair its finances, including job cuts and the closure of schools. He said there was a £140m gap that needed to be closed over the next 18 months.

Professor Sir Peter Mathieson announced that the university is looking to make cuts of £140m | Contributed

However, many staff believe the scale of the cuts are disproportionate to other higher education institutions across the UK, particularly given Edinburgh University remains in surplus.

The unions want to see Sir Peter face cross-examination by MSPs on management’s use of public funds, its legal responsibilities and effective governance.

They say the unions have not been provided access to key data and financial forecasts, and they believe bosses should be quizzed on whether planning and forecasting to date has been “fit for purpose”, and whether management has been “fully transparent” with the university’s ruling court.

The letter said: “Joint unions are of the view that proceeding with this scale of cuts is unnecessary, irresponsible and will be deeply damaging to a key institution that plays a central role in realising the Scottish Government’s ambitions for education and research.

“Cuts at this scale, we contend, could severely depress UoE’s revenue, while also being devastating for students, staff and the national community - redundancies, axed courses, barriers to generating future income, and irreversible harm in areas like quality education delivery and student pastoral support, which is already operationally overwhelmed and under-resourced.”

The letter is signed by June Maguire, branch secretary at Unison, Mark Patrizio, branch chair at Unite, and Sophia Woodman, branch president at UCU Edinburgh.

A ballot of UCU members at Edinburgh University recently found three-quarters are ready to go on strike over the institution’s failure to rule out compulsory redundancies.

Sir Peter, the university principal, said: “We are and have been in discussion with our joint trade unions throughout this process, during which they have been provided with detailed financial modelling. We have also been in active conversation with our funding bodies and government representatives, and are open to further dialogue.

“We appreciate many of the concerns raised by colleagues, students and others in our community, and we are making every effort to listen. However, we have been very clear that our current financial position is not sustainable and we are not immune to the challenges that the higher education sector is currently facing.

“The actions we must take now, which include a reduction of both staff and non-staff operating costs, will ensure that we remain strongly placed for the future, so that we can continue to attract the brightest minds and remain a world-leading university.

“We will continue to liaise with our unions and urge them to work together with us to shape a positive and sustainable outcome for the university and its community.”

A Scottish Parliament spokesperson said: “The committee has received this correspondence from representatives of unions at the University of Edinburgh and, as with all correspondence, will consider its response.”