The FT reports that Richard Lambert, head of the CBI, has warned that universities will find it very difficult to cope with the predicted 35% cuts to their budgets after the Westminster Spending Review this autumn. There is also concern that a graduate tax would drive UK graduates abroad to work. It’s the graduate tax reference that is picked up by The Guardian, whilst the Independent’s headline is that financial pressures will force mergers of institutions. In another piece in the FT, Vince Cable and Eric Pickles are in no doubt that Universities will play a vital part in helping the economy to recover from its current difficulties. “Improving the way bright scientific ideas are turned into excellent businesses is going to be vital for our long-term growth – but we have no chance of making it happen if the local economy cannot bring commerce and academia closer together,” they say.
