Lincoln MP ‘deeply concerned’ at University of Lincoln job cuts

The Labour MP for Lincoln has said he is "deeply concerned" following news of further job cuts at the city’s university.

Hamish Falconer, who also serves as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, has vowed to work with the University of Lincoln’s leadership and the Lincoln and District Trades Council to find a positive way forward.

Bradley Wall, chair of the Lincoln and District Trades Council, recently called on the vice chancellor and university leadership to urgently reconsider their decision and cancel any further job cuts.

The University and College Union previously told the BBC that it believes 285 jobs could be lost due to departmental restructures, though a spokesperson for the university stated that this figure was the "worst-case scenario."

In an email seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Daren Mansfield, Unison branch secretary at the University of Lincoln, stated that the proposed number of redundancies would account for 10.7% of the university's staff.

"The University of Lincoln has become the beating heart of this city; it drives regeneration, growth, and job creation. Cuts of this scale threaten to undo all of that progress," Mr Wall wrote.

"We believe that a university in decline leads to a city in decline – and we cannot stand by and let that happen."

A petition linked to the letter has already gained over 250 signatures.

Mr Falconer has now voiced his concerns about the situation, stating: "I am deeply concerned by the news of further job cuts at the University of Lincoln. The university is one of our city’s largest employers and plays a vital role in Lincoln’s economy, culture, and community life.

"I am in dialogue with both the trade councils and the university leadership regarding this situation. I understand the concerns being raised and will continue to engage with all sides to seek a positive way forward.

"The staff and students at the university are a cornerstone of our city, and their well-being must be at the heart of any decisions made."

Responding to the petition and statements from the trades council, a spokesperson for the university said: "Our university has recognised that the UK higher education sector is undergoing significant change. We must face into, and adapt to, the financial implications, including structuring to further enable diversity of income, to ensure we keep delivering for our students, city and region.

"Our refreshed strategy restates the positive vision of the type of university we want to be and offers a practical plan for how we achieve it. As part of this, we have entered a significant new phase of organisational restructuring and reform.

"The university has announced a mutually agreed resignation scheme for colleagues who want to leave through voluntary exit with enhanced terms and launched a consultation on departmental restructures which may result in some redundancies.

"We’re continuing to take prudent, practical measures to balance income and expenditure as we plan for a bright future ahead. This includes careful management of staff costs, our single biggest area of expenditure."

“We are not in deficit and we expect to return a break-even position in this financial year (2024/25), but the financial headwinds facing universities have not gone away. The causes are well-documented: declining international enrolments, rising pension and National Insurance costs, and the erosion of the real terms value of tuition fees through inflation.

“Having refreshed our strategy this year, we have a clear vision and plan for implementing changes that can help us be the best university we can be for our students and stakeholders in this new landscape.

“Universities are engines for economic growth and powerful levers for tackling the UK’s deepening regional inequalities. They should be paid fairly for the cost of providing quality teaching, research and innovation the UK needs. We also recognise the need to operate more efficiently and deploy our resources for maximum benefit while we await details of the Government’s planned higher education funding reforms.

“The university employs approximately 2000 members of staff across academic departments and professional services. We anticipate the majority of staff members leaving the University will do so through the mutually agreed resignation scheme. We are consulting with our Trades Unions and we will aim to mitigate the need for compulsory redundancies.”