£23 million deficit: staff held in suspense

Louise Collins & Matthew Stothard Venue Editor & Concrete Deputy-Editor

UEA has recently announced that staff redundancies will likely be made as it faces significant financial challenges.

On 17 January, an email was sent out to all university staff from Vice-Chancellor David Richardson, explaining that UEA faces “a budget deficit of £23m for 2023/2024 rising to £37m in three years time,” putting them at risk of breaching agreements on bank loans. As such, Richardson outlined the need for faculties to “prioritise their spending” and for Directors of Professional Services to “consider options for a 10 – 20% budget cut,” concluding, “it is unlikely we can make all the savings without compulsory redundancies.” These savings are to be made through an acceleration of the ongoing Strategic Review Programme, which plans to create “a more streamlined educational offer.”

In a later staff email seen by Concrete, suggestions to limit redundancies included a “temporary reductions in hours scheme” (staff working less than their contracted hours), an unpaid “career break scheme”, or a voluntary temporary “reduction in salary scheme”.

The 17 January email was sent out hours before an article was published by the Eastern Daily Press, with some staff finding out via the article, the announcement came as a surprise to many.

Michael Kyriacou, Chair of UEA UCU, informed Concrete staff were previously told UEA was in “good financial health,” whilst, during Covid-19, the view was that “we have a deficit, but long-term recovery is expected.” This outlook is reflected in UEA’s 2021-22 financial statement, which asserted that “There is currently headroom in both our forecast cash balances and banking covenant compliance before additional mitigations would be required”. However, the report did admit that UEA had not been producing the 3% surplus expected from Higher Education institutions for “many years.”

When considering why this situation has arisen, one area UEA has focussed heavily on is the falling student numbers, with a failure to reach intake targets. In 2022, UEA fell short by 8% of their entry targets (following a 17% shortfall in 2021)which had, according to their most recent financial report, an “adverse financial impact of £6.4 million.” The report states this resulted from a lack of open days throughout Covid-19, as well as “increased competition” in the sector due to Teacher Assessed Grades leading to higher tariff universities attracting more students. Rising energy costs were also stated as a reason for the debt, standing at “circa £5m in the last year.” UEA has taken some action against this, having “fixed the price on 80-100% of estimated usage through to Spring 2024 to provide certainty of costs.” They have also stated the debts were exacerbated by “tuition fees frozen at £9,250 since 2017,” “inflationary pressures on pay,” and “pensions.” Concrete reached out to UEA’s Finance Director for comment but, at the time of printing, no response was provided.

Mr Kyriacou argues other universities are facing the same issues and points instead to inappropriate management, stating that, “to handle it differently, properly, is not to be in this situation. It’s to manage the institution appropriately at the time, so you don’t end up in this situation, and that’s not a criticism of the people we have in charge; it’s just a statement of fact.” He suggests falling numbers were caused by ineffectively targeting competitors, saying, “I think my colleagues in ARM [Admissions, Recruitment and Marketing] do a fantastic job, but what we’ve lacked is a strategy to deal with, effectively, the Russell Group,” additionally pointing towards the raising of tariffs. For instance, in 2022 the listed entry requirements for BA (Hons) English Literature were ABB and for BA (Hons) History were BBB, which have both risen to AAB for 2023 entry. Kyriacou also points towards expenditure on projects, such as Sky House, the cancelled Arts and Humanities building, which UEA’s 2018-19 financial statement shows £2.2m had already been paid towards, and a “failure to maintain the Lasdun Wall,” which in his view have eroded UEA’s financial cushions.

One concerned staff member - who also wished to remain anonymous - refuted UEA’s citation of “pay and pensions” among the causing factors, telling Concrete, “All universities have to pay their staff. It is remarkable that UEA management seems to be saying that it is an enormous inconvenience that they have to pay the people who give the lectures, who teach the seminars, who look after the estate, who make and cook our food, the researchers producing this world-class research that they keep going on about, the staff who run our schools and institutes – the people who keep the University going.”

UEA’s Students’ Union Full Time Officer team have responded to the situation saying, “We were very saddened to hear the news regarding the UEA’s financial situation, and we are going to meet with the University to discuss this further,” offering to support both staff and students.

Meanwhile, Nathan Wyatt, a student, SU Non-Portfolio Officer, and President of UEA Labour, told Concrete that he was “calling for the Vice Chancellor to either resign from his position or take a 30% pay cut.”

The BBC reported UEA UCU voted towards having no confidence in UEA senior leadership. In an all staff meeting, Richardson stated he would be taking an "unspecified voluntary pay cut", one staff member reported. Staff were also told there would be no pay cap for staff members earning over £100,000 a year, of which there are over 50.

Many are concerned about the widereaching effect the potential scale of redundancies could have on staff and students. Kyriacou suggested that “if you get rid of the amount of academic staff that I fear they might there is going to be a tangible impact on every student on this campus because everybody is overworked. There is no fat on the bone to cut.”

Marina Prentoulis, Vice Chair of UEA UCU, also highlighted the risk that “Courses and modules will have to close down,” whilst one Associate Tutor pointed to fears resulting from “a trend of universities cutting back on staff, and decimating their Humanities departments.” Despite the suspected target areas, one member of staff says there has been an increased union of departments, stating, the university “expected it to divide us and it did the opposite.”

When considering the next steps for UEA UCU, Kyriacou told us that “we have to explore all modes of mitigation, but the employer also needs to understand that their preference should be the flesh and blood of staff over the steel and glass of other initiatives.” He expects UEA to make no compulsory redundancies. For now, he suggests that “a lot of people are quite shocked, a lot of people are very scared, very sad,” while Prentoulis told us, "Some colleagues are already looking for other jobs.”

When approached for comment, UEA told us “The University has worked hard to safeguard roles by reducing non-pay related budgets, but this is no longer sustainable. Unfortunately, this means that it is unlikely all savings can be made without compulsory redundancies. Work is currently taking place to identify where savings can be made and to ensure plans are in place by our next financial year (August/ September 2023). The University will continue to keep our staff informed during this period, as well as provide confidential and professional support to anyone who needs it." They also said they would “work closely with campus trade unions.”

Additionally, the Vice Chancellor said “UEA is a world-leading institution with an international reputation for research and teaching, but we need to adapt and change to the world around us. As a University, I know we will work together to evolve and grow through these difficult times to ensure we have securer financial foundations and a positive vision for our future success.”

As more meetings are held between staff and UEA executives, suggestions to avoid mass redundancies may come to fruition. However, with staff anxieties high and no concrete plan of action, the future of UEA jobs remains uncertain.