Volume 1
The impact of spending cuts on science and scientific research : sixth report of session 2009-10.
- Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Select Committee on Science and Technology
- Date:
- 2010
Licence: Open Government Licence
Credit: The impact of spending cuts on science and scientific research : sixth report of session 2009-10. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![5 Higher education 53. The funds allocated by HEFCE to the universities depend upon an annual grant from the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. HEFCE states on its website that “Most HEFCE funding is distributed as block grants to institutions, allocated according to formulae which take account of certain factors within each institution, including the number and type of students, the subjects taught and the amount and quality of research undertaken there”.’” The allocation for the financial year 2010-11 was £7,291 million, a reduction from £7,809 million in 2009-10 of approximately 6.5%. On 1 February 2010, HEFCE announced that funding for teaching would be cut by 1.6% in real terms compared to 2009-10. HEFCE will announce the allocations for individual institutions after the March meeting of the HEFCE board.'” 54. Professor Michael Arthur, Chair of the Russell Group, explained that universities plan on five-yearly cycles, and that one of the “difficulties about the scenario that we are facing is the uncertainty of when cuts will fall and in which budgets against that planning scenario’.'°* He went on to say that “I absolutely need to know what is happening in 2011 and 2012 in order to get 2010 right. Against that background, [...] most science departments in the country are on the edge of financial viability” .'” 55. The Minister for Higher Education and Intellectual Property, Rt Hon David Lammy MP, told us that: the essential statement of government intent in relation to higher education is contained in Higher Ambitions which we published in the autumn. It was a long and extensive consultation that was begun under John Denham [Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills]. We asked the sector to play a role in setting out the next ten-year vision for the sector, and on [...] said, “Investment in science and innovation is not an intellectual luxury for a developed country; it is an economic and social necessity and an indispensable ingredient of economic success.”!!° Increasing demand for and supply of STEM students 56. The number of students studying science, engineering and technology subjects at undergraduate level depends upon the number taking and passing science A-levels, which in turn is influenced by students having been able to take ‘triple’ or ‘separate’ sciences at GCSE level. Provision for teaching separate sciences and A-levels is contingent upon a steady supply of science graduates, resulting in a feedback loop over several years. The Russell Group dealt with this issue in some detail in its memorandum and expressed concern in relation to the number of students studying sciences at A-level in proportion to 106 HEFCE, Finance & assurance: Funding Higher Education, www.hefce.ac.uk/finance/fundinghe/ 107 Ev 66, para 10 | 108 Q 160 109 As above](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b32220534_0001_0028.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
