On 25 February, Vice-Chancellor Sir Peter Mathieson announced that the University of Edinburgh would be implementing up to £140m in budget cuts. The university says this is in order to balance their budget, which is expected to fall into a deficit in the next 18 months.
In an email sent to staff members, Sir Mathieson pointed out the issues which are forcing such a massive cut:
“These factors include years of income for teaching not rising in line with costs, steeply rising utilities prices, inflation, recent unexpected announcements on national insurance contributions, and rise in employment costs.”
He also claimed that financial recovery could not “be achieved by… small-scale measures.”
This comes after the University introduced voluntary severance packages following November’s National Insurance hike.
Tutors in Humanities departments have handed out leaflets to students warning of the staff cuts and merging of tutorial groups, which will come as byproducts of this change.
In a statement regarding this announcement, EUSA Sabbatical Officers showed their concern for the effects of the budget cuts, and demanded a change in funding from the Scottish Government.
“While we appreciate the current challenges, it is imperative that these cuts do not sacrifice the student experience.
“We believe it is time for the Scottish government to prove their commitment to free education… As your Sabbatical Officers, we will keep pushing for the government to address this crisis.”
Whereas EUSA and Mathieson’s statements indicate the need for drastic change, the Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) has argued that cuts are “out of proportion to the financial pressures… and out of sync with approaches taken at other universities.”
“There is no deficit at the University of Edinburgh… Edinburgh makes money, unlike most universities,” a UCU statement read.
Instead, the Union has pointed to what it calls “vanity projects,” such as the Future’s Institute, as consuming a large portion of the budget.
The University of Edinburgh was profitable in 2024, reporting a surplus of 8.5 per cent (£86m), before interest, depreciation, taxes, and amortisation.
Despite this, Edinburgh’s 10 per cent budget cut is almost 4 per cent larger than that of York (with the second highest budget cut announced so far), who had a deficit in the last two years.
Either way, there is no scenario in which students and staff will not be significantly affected by the staff cuts, increased tutorial sizes, and cuts to services which will arise from this slash in the budget.
“UCU strike” by marsupium photography is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.