Real term college funding cut a "betrayal"

The union was responding to the government's college funding announcement.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: "Just six months ago, in his keynote speech to Labour conference, the Prime Minister pledged that improving further education would be the "defining mission" of his government and promised to inject hundreds of millions more into the sector. Yet now, the government has told staff and students that colleges will instead suffer a real terms cut this year. This is a betrayal of our members, the sector, and Starmer's own "defining mission". The government now needs to urgently change course.

"It is also incredibly disappointing to see the college employer body immediately use the announcement to justify real terms pay cuts when it should instead be working with staff to hold the government to its promises."