University funding model branded ‘no longer fit for purpose’ amid Edinburgh job losses

The funding model for Scotland’s universities has been branded “no longer fit for purpose” after Edinburgh University announced the loss of hundreds of jobs.

Principal Professor Sir Peter Mathieson said “around 350” staff have taken voluntary redundancy as the sector wrestles with a financial crisis, with more positions being potentially cut.

The institution, which employs more than 15,000 staff, announced it would have to cut £140 million from its budget to plug a black hole earlier this year, with job cuts likely.

The redundancies were described as “alarming” and “a bitter blow” by the SNP’s opponents amid growing concerns over the financial difficulties engulfing the sector.

Sir Peter said: “The university’s voluntary severance scheme has concluded and around 350 staff will take voluntary severance, which will deliver year-on-year savings of approximately £18 million.

Old College at the University of Edinburgh | PA

“Managers were asked to consider the impact on colleagues as part of the voluntary severance application approval process and to ensure that workloads are managed effectively, particularly where staff will be leaving the organisation.

“We are continuing to look at all aspects of cost reduction across the university and this includes both staff and non-staff operating costs.

“Alongside recruitment constraints and a pause in academic promotions, further work will be needed to achieve a stable and sustainable staff base in the long-term and we are taking time to consider our approach.

“We appreciate that that this is causing uncertainty within our community.

“We are continuing to liaise with our joint trade unions and are providing regular updates as we take the necessary steps to ensure a financially sustainable future.”

The university also faces the possibility of strike action with workers currently being balloted by both the University and Colleges Union and Unison – the latter of which is due to close on Friday.

The announcement is the latest blow for Scottish higher education, after Dundee University announced around 700 jobs could be cut as it seeks to fill a £35 million deficit.

A Government-backed task force is due to meet for the first time on Thursday to discuss the future of the university.

Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh | Contributed

Earlier this month, Sir Peter raised the spectre of the end of free tuition fees for Scottish students, calling for a “radical rewiring” of the system.

“When you consider the rising costs of wages, food, housing, energy bills over the past eight years, in all that time the funding we receive to teach undergraduate students from Scotland and the rest of the UK remained stagnant,” he wrote in The Scotsman’s sister title Scotland On Sunday.

“This left us over-reliant on increases in international student numbers, which has proven an unstable model as geopolitics grow increasingly volatile and the UK’s attractiveness has declined.”

Scottish Labour education spokesperson Pam Duncan-Glancy accused the Scottish Government of having its “head in the sand”.

She said “These job losses are yet another alarming sign of the huge financial pressure universities across Scotland are under.

“It’s clear Scotland’s funding model is no longer fit for purpose, but the SNP government has its head in the sand and its Ministers are clueless.

“As universities are being forced to cut jobs due to financial pressures, the Higher Education Minister can’t even tell the Parliament when a key report into university finances will be published.“The SNP cannot stand idly by while Scotland’s world-class universities are fighting for survival and young Scots are missing out on places.

“Scottish Labour will work in partnership with Scottish universities to design a funding model that allows these fantastic institutions to thrive and unlocks opportunities for Scottish pupils.”

Miles Briggs of the Scottish Conservatives warned the job losses at Edinburgh University could be “the tip of the iceberg”.

He said: “It is shocking that it has reached a point where hundreds of staff are now leaving jobs voluntarily at one of Scotland's iconic universities.

“Given the perilous state of Edinburgh University's finances, these losses could be the tip of the iceberg.

“SNP ministers cannot keep burying their heads in the sand over the crisis facing our universities. They need to accept that their current approach is harming these institutions and urgently outline a real plan to protect jobs and students."

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP described the job losses as a “bitter blow fo staff, students and the city of Edinburgh”.

He said: “This feels like a step back at a time when the UK should be doubling and tripling down on our strengths, of which are world-class universities are certainly one. Cutting staff numbers risks having knock on effects for years to come in a whole host of fields.

“Today’s announcement is damning of both the SNP who have failed to deliver a sustainable footing for higher education for years, the Conservatives who presided over years of economic chaos and the Labour party whose increases in national insurance contributions is playing merry hell with businesses and organisations up and down the country.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said “staffing and operational matters are the responsibility of individual universities as autonomous institutions”.

But they added that the government and the Scottish Funding Council “will continue to engage closely with the sector and offer appropriate support to universities as they develop their plans to address financial challenges”.

The spokesperson continued: “In line with our fair work principles, we would expect universities to engage meaningfully with staff on the potential impact of their plans. Our clear expectation is that universities work with staff to make every effort to protect jobs.

“The sector is aware we are open to exploring the future funding model of universities, but we are clear that this Government will not reintroduce tuition fees.

“Access to higher education must be based on the ability to learn, not the ability to pay. Broader financial pressures facing the sector remain, including the UK Government’s migration policies, employee national insurance contributions and inflationary pressures.”