Hat-trick of seven-figure deficits as HE finance crisis spreads

A hat-trick of seven-figure deficits in the devolved nations has underlined that the financial crisis in UK higher education is not confined to the English sector.

While many English universities have been releasing their 2023-24 financial returns in recent weeks to comply with Office for Students reporting requirements – including many posting multimillion-pound losses – only eight institutions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have published their accounts yet.

However, of those, five have posted deficits, including Queen’s University Belfast, the fourth member of the prestigious Russell Group to say it made a loss last year.

Queen’s had an operating deficit of £12.7 million in 2023-24, following a £6.1 million shortfall in the preceding 12 months, excluding movements in pension provision.

Northern Ireland’s top ranked institution describes this as a “satisfactory” performance, coming after a one-off payment of £3.8 million to support staff as part of a new three-year pay deal.

The UK sector’s challenging environment is “particularly acute” in Northern Ireland and operational deficits cannot be sustained, Queen’s says in its accounts.

Compared with tuition fees of £9,250 in England – rising to £9,535 this autumn – Northern Irish students currently pay £4,750 if they study in the province, and public funding from Stormont has struggled to keep up with the gap. Student number caps – lifted in England in 2015 – remain in place in Northern Ireland, limiting institutions’ ability to expand.

Meanwhile, Queen’s has been hit by the same struggles in international student recruitment affecting the rest of the UK sector.

In its accounts, the university says that significant underinvestment and public funding cuts have placed it at a “competitive disadvantage” in terms of both teaching and research compared with the rest of the UK.

“The university faces significant financial challenges which have been compounded by a constrained funding environment, a volatile international student recruitment market and inflationary cost pressures,” the accounts say.

“Government funding uncertainties and ongoing restrictions on NI student numbers and fees continue to be of concern.”

Ulster University has reported an “underlying” deficit of £2.5 million for 2023-24, down from a £13.1 million surplus the year before, warning in its accounts that it is disadvantaged by receiving less funding per student per year than comparable institutions in England.

In Scotland, the University of the West of Scotland has reported an underlying deficit of £15.3 million, which it attributes to increases in expenditure outstripping increases in income.

The previous Westminster government’s “negative rhetoric” towards international students caused UWS recruitment to fall, the institution’s accounts say, adding that recovering from the impact of a cyberattack in July 2023 had incurred £4 million in additional staff and operating expenditure in 2023-24.

The third seven-figure deficit was posted by Heriot-Watt University, which nevertheless describes its £10.5 million shortfall as a “notable achievement” delivered through careful control of costs and increased income in areas outside tuition fees, following a £15.7 million deficit in 2022-23.

Like others in Scotland, Heriot-Watt says in its accounts that the tightening of visa restrictions by Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government made it more difficult to attract international students and reduced income.

This comes after the University of St Andrews posted a £13 million underlying deficit, and as the University of Dundee, which is yet to post its accounts, warns that it is battling a £30 million deficit.

Most Welsh universities are yet to publish their financial statements for 2023-24. Other leading institutions to have posted deficits in recent weeks include the University of York, King’s College London and the University of Nottingham.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com