Chamber and committees

You may have heard the evidence earlier about student homelessness and a shortage of accommodation, staff pay, pensions, short-term contracts, staff ratios and huge stress. Now we hear that we have massive cross-subsidy, which is greater than it is in England, where the funding from international students helps with research. Here, it helps with Scottish students. Is it not a little bit complacent to say that the sector is thriving when we have heard that pretty dark story this morning?

Is it free?

I was impressed with those answers to Mr Dey’s questions. Our witnesses are quite right to put him in his place. It is up to the Government, not the union representatives, to come up with the answers to these things.

The situation does not seem to be very happy. This morning, you have talked about homelessness, a shortage of student accommodation and very expensive student accommodation. We have talked about severe problems with student finance, staff pay, staff pensions, staff contracts and staff ratios. This is quite a dark place for universities to be in. We have prided ourselves on having some of the best universities not just in Britain but across the world. Do you think that that status is under threat if these issues are not resolved?

Karen Watt, you have said on a number of occasions that the universities would come to a view and make an assessment about their exposure to international students. Do they have a choice? When funding over the 10-year period has been cut or will fall by 37 per cent and when student places in Scottish universities are underfunded by between £4,000 to £7,000, depending on the course, do they really have a choice? Do they not have to do this to survive?

I have one final question. Are we comfortable that we are asking students from some of the poorest parts of the world to subsidise Scottish education to such an extent? We are asking African countries and south Asian countries—some of the poorest countries facing the greatest struggles—to subsidise Scottish education. Do you feel a bit uncomfortable about doing that?

It is subsidised.

It is still subsidy.

I am afraid that the situation does—again—reflect complacency. We have seen a massive reduction in the share of UK research funding that we get for Scottish universities—from roughly 15 per cent to 12.5 per cent. That is a 2.5 per cent drop and means that we have lost £1.8 billion. Of course, we should not be wholly dependent on the public sector, but surely that is an indication that we have not, in recent years, been funding to the same extent as England. Why are you not telling the Government bluntly that the brilliant Scottish universities with brilliant research are in decline?

Do you attend every board meeting?

What happens if Government does not seize the opportunity?