Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of redundancies in higher education in the last year.

The government greatly values the hard work of staff across the higher education (HE) sector who continue to deliver for students and universities during what is a challenging period.

We are aware that some providers are making difficult decisions around staffing to safeguard their financial sustainability.

Given that universities are independent, the government does not have a role in intervening with specific providers in pay and staffing matters, nor does it collect specific data on redundancies within HE.

We encourage providers to work constructively with their staff to develop sustainable models that retain talent and expertise, and provide stability for the workforce and the institution.

We are committed to putting our world-leading universities onto a secure financial footing so they can face the challenges of the next decade. Our decision to raise tuition fees annually in line with inflation, alongside refocusing the Office for Students on monitoring the sector’s financial health, demonstrates this commitment.