Hungry Treasury eyes universities 'awash with cash'

By John Morgan. Further austerity measures could wreak havoc with BIS’ stretched finances. Fears are growing that England’s universities could suffer from the perception that they are “awash with cash”, as the Treasury seeks cuts of £1 billion in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ 2015-16 budget.
Vince Cable, the business secretary, is opposing the Treasury’s spending review plans for cuts of up to 8 per cent to his department, where higher education is by far the biggest area of spending.
Such a cut would be in line with projected reductions at other non- protected departments.
By contrast, in Australia the representative body for universities has launched an A$5 million (£3.4 million) campaign in election year to push for annual increases in state investment and promote public awareness of higher education. Read more...