Fender gets inflation-busting wage rise

Sir Brian Fender, chief executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England, landed a 5.6 per cent pay rise this year, taking his salary and benefits to Pounds 133,000, more than than all but seven university vice-chancellors. Seven of 181 members of HEFCE staff received salaries of more than Pounds 50,000. The funding council's administrative costs dropped by 2.5 per cent on the year to March 31, 1999. The figures were published in HEFCE's annual report.