University of East Anglia bosses must explain debt rise, says MP

Managers at a university facing a larger than expected budget deficit need to explain how the situation arose, an MP has said.

The University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich said it is facing "a revised budget deficit of £30m for 2023-2024, rising to £45m in three years' time".

Norwich MP Clive Lewis said "comparable institutions" to UEA "are not facing the same crisis".

A UEA spokeswoman said "compulsory redundancies would be our last resort".

The Labour MP warned of "implications for all of us" in the region if the university reduced its offer.

"For businesses, for partners, for the Norwich Research Park, which is an integral part of our local economy, I think the ripple effect of this could be quite significant," he said.

In January, UEA said it was looking to make compulsory redundancies, due to "the effects of Covid, the tuition fee freeze, pressures on student numbers and rising costs".

This prompted the University and College Union UEA branch to vote no confidence in its senior leaders.

In a staff email sent on Wednesday, deputy vice-chancellor Christine Bovis-Cnossen said student applications were "down again" and it was now predicting an even bigger budget deficit.

The BBC understands student applications are down across a number of subjects.

Mr Lewis said: "This just blows a hole in the idea this is just external issues that have caused this - the energy crisis, Covid.

"It's quite clear that there are questions for management now about how they handled this and why we are in a situation where we are at UEA, when other comparable institutions are not facing the same crisis."

Dr Michael Kyriacou, UEA branch chair of the University and College Union, said his members believed "mismanagement" was behind the drop in student numbers.

He feared the university was being put into "a death spiral" and called on "management and staff to come together to find a solution that will work".

The UEA spokeswoman said "compulsory redundancies would be our last resort" and added "this latest update gives additional context and timelines".

"Detailed business plans and potential impacts for every area of the university are being worked through," she said.

In the staff email, Prof Bovis-Cnossen said: "I know this is a tough time for our community and I want to thank you again for your hard work and patience through this difficult time."

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