Spending review protects universities, cuts colleges

The availability of student places at Scotland's colleges will be hit hard under spending plans outlined by the Scottish Government, the sector has warned.

Announced last month, the Scottish Government’s spending review has enjoyed praise from the higher education sector following a commitment to inject £135 million into universities to raise teaching and research standards.

However, a decision to impose a 13.5 per cent cut – equivalent to a loss of £74 million – in spending devoted to Scotland's colleges over the next three years has raised fears the further education sector could be forced to turn away prospective students.

And in a letter to education secretary Michael Russell – published in The Journal today – John Spencer, convener of umbrella body Scotland's Colleges, warns no commitment on avoiding compulsory job losses can be made in the wake of the proposals.

The budget for colleges is to be slashed from £544.7 million this year to £506.9 million in 2012-13, with budgets of £494.7 million and £470.7 million set aside for 2013-14 and 2014/15 respectively.

"As a sector, facing cuts of this magnitude, we can offer no commitment on compulsory redundancies again for the period of the Spending Review," writes Spencer.

"The impact on the quality of provision, the availability of student support services, and the loss to expertise, capacity and morale present in the sector through losing staff cannot be overstated."

The declaration came as dozens of support staff at Stow College walked out on strike after college officials reneged on a promised pay rise due at the start of August. Public sector union Unison are continuing to lobby for the college to pay staff the living wage of £7.20 per hour.

Chris Greenshields, the Unison steward at Stow, said that many employees were living on "poverty pay", and that he hoped the strike "will make Stow College think twice about their decision and decide instead to honour their commitment to fair pay for our members."

Mr Spencer, who was appointed as principal of Inverness College – part of the University of Highlands and Islands (UHI) – continued: "Our key concern is the ability to deliver for learners," he writes. "The SNP’s manifesto commitment to retain student numbers at colleges over the lifetime of this Parliament... cannot be delivered in this proposed budget.

"We recognise the Scottish Government’s aspiration for reform to the sector and we will embrace reform that can benefit learners. But reform should not come at the expense of the quality or breadth of provision for college students."

Plans to cut funding in the next three years attracted criticism from National Union of Students Scotland president, Robin Parker, who added: “Colleges serve some of the most deprived communities in Scotland offering an educational lifeline and local access to education to some of the most excluded in our society.

“They must make sure that no matter what, the number of places at college is at least protected and that quality is maintained.”

But criticism for the spending review has not been universal. Praise has come from the sector after the government announced that the overall budget for higher education is to rise to £1.06 billion by 2015. Similarly, the decisions to protect the Education Maintenance Allowance and commit to a £7,000 minimum income provision for the poorest students were greeted warmly by Mr Parker, who said that they were "a major step in right direction towards making access to education in Scotland fairer."

A commitment to increase funding to narrow the gap with English universities and defend Scottish universities' international reputation has also been proposed. Professor Sir Timothy O'Shea, vice-convener of Universities Scotland and principal of the University of Edinburgh said: "The protection of our international standing is vital if we are to continue to deliver for Scotland and continue to lever-in well over £1 billion every year to the Scottish economy from UK and international sources."