Union calls for inquiry into university finances

Sheffield Hallam University said it had invested in "outstanding new facilities"

A union has called for a public inquiry into how Sheffield Hallam University has managed its finances, claiming they are in a "perilous" state.

The University and College Union (UCU) claims a series of "reckless decisions taken by university management have significantly contributed to the present-day crisis".

However, the university said it had invested in "outstanding new facilities" and needed to boost its estate to "be an attractive choice for prospective students".

The union's report was published as members of the UCU at both Sheffield Hallam and the University of Sheffield took part in industrial action in a dispute over job losses, workload and welfare.

The UCU said there were £40m of cuts at Sheffield Hallam in past year and a further £28m of cuts have been planned for 2025/26. In the past two years, 1,000 members of staff have been lost, they said.

The union's report criticised a number of the university's financial decisions, including the opening of a new £140m city centre campus and a campus in Brent Cross in London.

A UCU spokesperson said: "The consequence of this in the context of much more recent sector wide challenges, is a financial crisis that is being paid for through jobs, deteriorating working conditions, a deteriorating student offer and impacts upon the wider economy of this city.

"We call for a government-led public inquiry into the (mis)management of public monies at Sheffield Hallam University."

The university said it had maintained investment in "research, innovation and knowledge exchange" and had more than doubled research income in the past five years.

A spokesperson said: "It is important to be clear that we have been able to make significant savings without the need for any compulsory redundancies.

"We will continue to seek to avoid them where possible and, as always, will engage closely and constructively with our staff and trade union representatives."

The new city centre campus at Sheffield Hallam University

The university took out a £70m loan at the start of 2022 to fund work on the new city campus, which the union said was "high risk and irresponsible " because income from home undergraduate students was beginning to decline.

The UCU report also claimed that the creation of a new satellite campus in London was "misguided" and added: "There have been very many attempts by provincial universities to capture a portion of the London higher education market over the last 20 years.

"A very high proportion of such ventures have failed."

However, the university said the new campus in Sheffield provided "outstanding new facilities that are a huge asset" for the university and the city.

"The competitive nature of the UK higher education sector means we need to invest in our estate to be an attractive choice for prospective students," the spokesperson said.

"The overall financial picture for universities is likely to be challenging for some time, which means we must continue to reduce costs and increase income where we can.

"This is why we have plans to diversify income through a new London campus and have introduced several flexible online masters programmes."

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