Universities should ‘exercise pay restraint at senior levels’, MSPs say

Universities should “exercise pay restraint at senior levels” as part of efforts to tackle funding challenges in the sector, MSPs have said.

The advice was contained in a letter sent to minister for higher and further education Ben MacPherson by the Scottish Parliament’s Education, Children and Young People Committee.

The letter – which outlines concerns on funding issues that the college and university sectors are facing – comes after the committee met ahead of the Scottish Budget to be held in January.

In the letter, the committee highlighted a “lack of change or urgency” from the Scottish Government around the financial sustainability of colleges.

It called on ministers to make the recommendations expressed by the committee.

It said: “For a number of years, this committee has expressed concern regarding the financial sustainability of Scotland’s colleges and has made numerous recommendations to the Scottish Government on how these financial challenges should be addressed.

“The committee is frustrated at the lack of change or urgency to make change that the sector has seen, and shares concerns of the sector that, without action, the future of some colleges is at serious risk.”

It went on to call for funding and “transformative initiatives” in the Scottish Budget to address the financial challenges.

The current funding model for Scotland’s universities is “not sustainable”, according to the letter.

It made several recommendations and advised universities to “exercise pay restraint at senior levels”.

It said: “The committee is concerned by the high pay packages offered to university principals and those in senior management positions, and would welcome the Scottish Government’s view on this, including confirmation of whether the Scottish Government’s letter of guidance to the SFC will contain information on exercising pay restraint in relation to senior management staff in universities.

“The committee encourages universities to exercise pay restraint at senior levels, given the difficult financial situation which universities find themselves in.”

This recommendation is made in light of the committee’s concerns about “inappropriate and excessive loss of staff”, as a result of universities seeking to achieve financial sustainability.

Dundee University is cutting 632 full-time jobs as it revealed it has a £35 million deficit while the University of Edinburgh is looking to make £140 million of cuts over the next year.

Aberdeen University has also cut staff through voluntary redundancy programmes while the city’s Robert Gordon University has put 135 roles “at risk”.

MSPs on the committee said there is a concern that cutting jobs in universities will have an impact on the quality of education that is delivered.

The committee also asked the Scottish Government to provide its view on how a new funding model could work, saying: “The committee was concerned with the latest report from the SFC which shows that financial sustainability remains challenging for many universities.

“This committee has previously expressed concern regarding the current funding model for Scotland’s universities and, again, notes the evidence that it is not sustainable.

“The committee acknowledges the Scottish Government’s position that there will be no introduction of tuition fees for Scottish-domiciled students and asks it to set out its view on how a new funding model could address the financial challenges faced by Scotland’s universities.”

The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.