We wanted to let members know that the Minister has just released the Department for Education’s response to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme consultation, which can be read here.

The Department received a range of responses and they considered these very carefully. Unfortunately, however, after reflecting on all the responses and evidence submitted, Ministers have decided that money to meet the additional costs will not be made available for HE providers.

We would like to assure members that we will continue to work with UCEA and UUK to raise our concerns about the impact of this policy and make the case for additional funding.

We have issued a joint press statement with UUK, including a comment from David Llewellyn (below).

Dr David Llewellyn, Chair of GuildHE and Vice Chancellor, Harper Adams University, said: 

“This announcement will have a detrimental impact on the higher education sector and its students. The proposals will significantly increase pension costs for around 70 modern universities.

“The Government has committed to providing funding to deal with its decision for other parts of the education system and it should do the same for universities, particularly at a time of increased financial uncertainty arising from reviews of higher education funding that have yet to be concluded and the demographics facing the sector over the next few years.

“At a time when we must ensure that the UK has the skills it needs to deal with the new economic conditions that lie ahead, a decision that could result in money being taken away from front line teaching is deeply regrettable.”

The full announcement from the DfE can be found here.