EXCLUSIVE: Funding chiefs approve Dundee University bailout conditions.
The conditions of a £40 million bailout for Dundee University have cleared the first hurdle. Conditions for a £40 million emergency bailout for Dundee University were agreed with at a critical meeting of the Scottish Funding Council board, it can be disclosed.
The specific nature of the criteria remain unknown, but The Courier understands they will establish a set of parameters for Dundee University to protect the large level of public investment.
This could contain statistics about the number of additional job losses at the university, and the paper will lay out clear expectations for staff and student consultation.
The conditions, pending legal checks, will be forwarded to the Scottish Government for a final decision on whether to release the funds.
What happens next?
The university’s governing court will next determine whether to accept the terms in order to receive the £40 million announced earlier by Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth.
A Scottish financial Council representative stated, “The SFC board approved the financial conditions subject to minor adjustments and final legal checks. “A final version will then be given to ministries for financial approval, and the conditions will be sent to the university court.
“It would not, however, be appropriate to comment on the conditions until they have been shared with the university court.”
The Scottish Government is using unprecedented powers to issue money directly to Dundee University and impose limitations on how it is used.
It follows a harsh independent examination of the financial crisis, which slammed the institution’s leadership for a slew of failings.
However, interim principal Professor Nigel Seaton has stated that he will consider resigning if the demands prohibit him from running a sustainable school.
He told The Courier, “I am obligated to administer the university in a sustainable manner. We are currently unsustainable because our expenditure exceeds our income, which we must reverse as quickly as feasible.
“I consider that to be my duty, and if we were to get conditions which said delay action until a certain point in the future, I wouldn’t consider that consistent with my duties as the chief executive of a charity or more specifically as a principal of a university.”
Dundee University bailout set to top £60 million
When asked if he would retire in such a circumstance, he replied, “I can’t do something that is inconsistent with my own obligation, which I regard as a moral responsibility.
“I probably don’t want to go any further, but it’s an issue I think about every day.” If ministers accept the £40 million, Dundee University’s overall financial support will reach £62 million.
Ms Gilruth previously stated that the institution may require an additional liquidity facility ranging from £35 to £60 million.
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