Labs in the red

It is misleading to suggest that "laboratory-based subjects will not lose out" on teaching funding ("Hefce teaching windfall is boost for humanities", THES , January 9).

In arriving at the prospective base figure of £3,400 for next year, the Higher Education Funding Council for England has included an increase for inflation and the existing funding for human resources that universities are already spending this year. Excluding the already committed HR funding, the changes in real terms are at best +14 per cent (non-lab), - 2 per cent (part lab), - 4 per cent (full lab) and +1 per cent (clinical). For computer science, the change is about - 26 per cent.

David Wallace
Vice-chancellor
Loughborough University