Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has taken steps to prevent job reductions at Birkbeck, University of London; and if she will meet with unions and management together.

Higher Education (HE) providers are independent, autonomous institutions responsible for their own decisions on staffing issues, including how they structure themselves to deliver research and teaching priorities. Where it is necessary to reshape their activities, it is important that universities carefully consider the impact of job losses on staff and students, and the overall sustainability of teaching and research in this country.

The department will continue to work closely with the Office for Students and various parties, including a variety of HE providers across the sector, mission groups and other government departments to understand the ongoing impacts and changing landscape of financial sustainability in the HE sector.