Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Ministers and the Higher Education Funding Council for England plan to investigate the decision-making process at the University of Bath which led to an "exit package" being paid to the Vice-Chancellor; what was the total value of that package; and whether they consider this was consistent with the proper and efficient use of public funds.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The government expects the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to look into issues related to value for money with regard to English higher education institutions. HEFCE has investigated the governance process at the University of Bath which led to the Vice-Chancellor being awarded their most recent salary increase. On the 20 November 2017 it published a report, containing recommendations relating to that governance process. The university has agreed to respond to those recommendations by 15 December 2017.
Separately, the university’s governing body has agreed the retirement arrangements for the Vice-Chancellor. The university issued a press release on 28 November, confirming the details of the exit package.
We understand that HEFCE is currently considering whether it should investigate the governance processes concerned with the Vice-Chancellor’s retirement.
The government’s determination to ensure that students and the taxpayer receive value for money from the higher education sector underpin the reforms we are making through the Higher Education and Research Act 2017. The Office for Students (OfS) will become the regulator for the sector in 2018. The OfS has a statutory duty to have regard to the need to promote value for money in the provision of higher education by English higher education providers.
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which members of the board of the Office for Students are (1) employed by, and (2) in receipt of remuneration from, a university in England; and what was the total amount of that remuneration in the 2016–17 tax year.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The Board for the Office for Students (OfS) currently exists in shadow form and will be legally constituted on 1 January 2018. The Board will be constituted with a mixture of executive and non-executive members that reflect the skills and experiences specified in Schedule 1 of the Higher Education and Research Act (2017). This includes a need for the Secretary of State to have explicit regard when appointing members for them to have experience of providing higher education on behalf of English higher education providers.
In recognition of this, two of the members of the OfS shadow board are currently employed by a university in England. Professor Steve West, is employed and remunerated by the University of the West of England and David Palfreyman, is employed and remunerated by a college of the University of Oxford. Both are also currently members of the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s (HEFCE) board and have been appointed onto the OfS Board to maintain continuity and manage a smooth transition to the new regulatory regime.
As is common amongst regulators, including HEFCE, we will expect the OfS to operate an internal governance code, once established, that provides a clear declaration of the interests of members and ensures that individuals recuse themselves from any Board discussion where there is the potential for a conflict of interest. The declaration of interests of public appointees does not include the amount of remuneration from employment beyond the remuneration they receive from the public body of which they are members.
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in respect of the duty of the Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England to safeguard the efficient use of public funds, what assessment they have made of the value for money of salaries paid to vice-chancellors.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The government is determined to ensure that students and taxpayers can be confident that they get a good deal from higher education (HE).
Over recent years, the government has become increasingly concerned about the level of remuneration for senior staff in the HE sector. It has asked the Higher Education Funding Council for England to look at this issue using its regulatory powers, which has resulted in updated guidance to the sector on senior pay and greater transparency in relation to vice-chancellor salaries.
Holding universities to account for value for money has been a key objective of the HE reforms, enacted in the Higher Education and Research Act, and it continues to guide the government’s work as the Office for Students (OfS) is launched.
The OfS has a statutory duty to promote value for money in the sector. The government will ask the OfS to use its powers to take action to protect value for money for students and taxpayers in the future.
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England has raised with (1) Ministers, and (2) the Permanent Secretaries, at (a) the Department for Education, and (b) the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, any concerns about poor value for money in public spending caused by excessive salaries for vice-chancellors and other senior administrators in England’s universities.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England meets regularly with officials and with the Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation who is a Minister at both the Department for Education, and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
They discuss a range of issues relating to the delivery of value for money in our higher education sector, which has included issues related to senior pay as well as issues related to teaching, research and others aspects of the activities of higher education providers.
The Chief Executive met the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Education in November 2016 and senior pay was not discussed. She has not met the Permanent Secretary for BEIS.
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the contract of the Chief Executive of the Office for Students forbids her from accepting remuneration for employment from a university in England after her term of office.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The Office for Students currently exists in shadow form and will be legally constituted on 1 January 2018. In appointing the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) her current interests were disclosed and discussed in terms of how they affect her tenure as CEO. In making public appointments it is not usual practice to determine the future employment of public appointees.
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the contract of the Chair of the Office for Students forbids him from accepting remuneration or employment from a university in England after his term of office.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The Office for Students currently exists in shadow form and will be legally constituted on 1 January 2018. In appointing the Chair his current interests were disclosed and discussed in terms of how they affect his tenure as Chair. He attended a Pre-Appointment Hearing before the Education Select Committee who endorsed his appointment. In making public appointments it is not usual practice to determine the future employment of public appointees.
Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Chief Executive of the Higher Education Council for England as Accounting Officer has a duty to intervene in cases of serious abuse of funding on the part of universities.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
As Accounting Officer for the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), the Chief Executive Officer has a duty to safeguard the public funds the council allocates. Through the Memorandum of Assurance and Accountability, which HEFCE has with all the institutions it funds, the council monitors universities’ management of public money. HEFCE has power, under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, to intervene in cases of mismanagement.