Cuts to higher education budget counterproductive UUK

Universities UK's submission to the spending review today (7 October) outlines the critical role that universities will play in helping secure the UK's future economic growth and prosperity. The submission outlines why: Cutting back on investment in the forthcoming Spending Review could impact negatively on the Government's plans to reduce the fiscal deficit by 2014-15 Public investment in universities leverages investment from private sources, and is critical to innovation and growth in the private sector Cuts could have devastating effects on the student experience and opportunities for social mobility, as well as our capacity to deliver high-quality frontline services in healthcare and school education Professor Steve Smith, Universities UK President, said: "The UK's competitor economies face the same deficit reduction challenges as we do, but they have decided to invest in higher education at this crucial time, not cut it. This is because they recognise the importance of universities to the future growth of their economies. "Higher education also has an important role to play in promoting an equitable society through the opportunities to study at university. It is imperative that we maintain this commitment to help people improve their future prospects. The OECD has also stated recently that a drop in the number of graduates would mean that in the long term, our economic growth potential is more limited. "Going to university still has a significant impact on our future earnings too.