Twenty-Four English Universities Face Insolvency Risk, MPs Demand Student Protection Plan

Twenty-four universities in England face a risk of insolvency within the next 12 months, according to a report from the Education Select Committee. This assessment includes seven institutions with student populations exceeding 3,000. An additional 26 universities are identified as being at risk within the next two to three years.

The report highlights that many of these institutions are already undertaking significant cost-cutting measures, including job losses, course closures, and the sale of property and land. Helen Hayes MP, who chairs the committee, emphasised the critical need to safeguard students who have committed substantial time and resources to their studies.

Government Intervention Urged

The committee is demanding that the government and the Office for Students develop a comprehensive protocol to manage potential university failures. This protocol should include fully costed plans for protecting students and staff, offering options such as mergers, restructuring, or an orderly closure with provisions for continuing studies.

Ms Hayes stated that the insolvency of a major UK university is a "real possibility, not a theoretical warning," stressing the necessity for an early warning system. She urged authorities to intervene proactively rather than reactively when financial distress becomes acute.

While a Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson claimed commitment to a secure future for universities, the report criticises a freeze on undergraduate tuition fees, which has compelled universities to increasingly rely on income from postgraduate and international students. International students, constituting a quarter of all enrolments, now account for over 45% of fee income, effectively cross-subsidising research and domestic teaching.

The University and College Union (UCU) described the situation as the government being "asleep at the wheel," with General Secretary Jo Grady calling for an emergency higher education taskforce. The National Union of Students (NUS) labelled the report "scary reading," asserting that students should not suffer due to underinvestment in higher education.