Latest news with #PeterMathieson
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Edinburgh academics strike over £140m funding cuts
Academics will take to picket lines surrounding the university this morning, and a rally will be held in the city's George Square at 11AM. The strikes are intended to disrupt the university's annual Open Day, where prospective students and their families will visit the Old College campus. Additional pickets are set to be carried out between 8-12 September as students return from the summer holidays. Bosses at the university aim to reduce spending by £140m. (Image: Newsquest) Sophia Woodman, president of the Edinburgh University UCU branch, said: 'Taking strike action is the very last thing UCU members at Edinburgh want to do but the decision of the principal to press ahead with huge cuts and the refusal to rule out compulsory redundancies has simply left us no choice. 'University staff are worried about the future and whether they'll have a job this time next year. We are striking on Open Day to sound the alarm about the future of research and teaching at the university, because we care deeply about the quality of education we provide to our students. Woodman added: 'Staff are stunned to see university senior management pressing ahead with plans to spend vast sums on public relations consultants and increase spending on buildings while cutting the staff who teach students and carry out world leading research. Even at this late stage it's not too late for the university to rule out the use of compulsory redundancies and end this dispute.' Read more: 'It was clunky at best': Edinburgh University pulls 'don't be snobs' guidance Edinburgh University could cut 1750 staff jobs, claims union Edinburgh University at risk of lawsuit over policy to make all toilets mixed-sex University principal Peter Mathieson, who recently told MSPs he was not sure how much money he made, has also come under fire. Asked by Education Committee convenor Douglas Ross to confirm his salary, Mathieson was unable to do so, quipping: 'I don't carry that figure round in my head. I recognise that I'm very well paid. 'You could pay the senior team of the University of Edinburgh nothing and that would make largely no difference to the size of the expenditure challenge we face.' UCU General Secretary Jo Grady UCU General Secretary Jo Grady has also hit out at the chief executive, who makes around £418,000 a year. She said: 'Peter Mathieson has been warned often enough about the impact his cuts will have on staff, students and the university's reputation but the refusal not to rule out compulsory redundancies means that the fault for this strike going ahead lies firmly at his door.' A University of Edinburgh spokesperson said: 'Open Day is a hugely important event in our calendar, and we are delighted to be welcoming thousands of potential students to our campus. Visitors will get a taste of what classes might be like, see accommodation options as well as experiencing the city itself. "While we respect colleagues' right to take part in industrial action, we are doing our utmost to keep any disruption to a minimum and have endeavoured to keep those planning to attend well informed.'
STV News
2 days ago
- Business
- STV News
Hubris, secrecy and a £122m bailout: Dundee scandal is a wake-up call for all universities
This is beyond damning. The principal and other senior managers at the University of Dundee knew their student numbers were falling and knew they were millions of pounds in deficit. But the fact that they not only failed to do anything about it but covered it up and kept spending is incredible. Attracting overseas students has been a big part of the business model for Scotland's universities for quite a few years. It worked at Dundee University – until it didn't. In 2024, the number of overseas students enrolling at Dundee fell from more than 1,200 to fewer than 400. Instead of cutting costs in line with falling income, the principal's message was one of confidence for the future and the prospect of continued growth. For months, financial papers were withheld from the university's ruling court and no one questioned what was going on. Bear in mind this is a higher education institution charged with shaping the inquiring minds of the country's future, and not one of the senior management team questioned what was going on or why they were being kept in the dark. As well as all that, the principal and his closest colleagues kept the university's financial position from the Bank of Scotland. The Gillies Report makes it clear they were guilty of a 'breach of covenant' twice – spending money from university bank accounts while knowing they were already in deficit. That's something else they kept from the University Court. I've not seen a report like this outside of the criminal courts, but it's author Professor Pamela Gillies does not believe their actions amount to criminality. The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, (OSCR) however, is launching a further investigation on the back of todays report. All universities in Scotland are registered as charities. So OSCR says 'concerns remain about the governance of this charity' and they are opening an inquiry 'so that we can better understand these matters'. They will look into 'the university and its trustees, past and present, to determine whether regulatory action is required'. So everyone who sat on Dundee University's Court or played a role in senior management over the last few years will come under their investigation, including former Scottish Labour leader Wendy Alexander, who is now a Labour Peer in the House of Lords. This is a wake up call to universities across Scotland. Just this month MSPs on Holyrood's education committee heard from University of Edinburgh principal Sir Peter Mathieson, Edinburgh Napier University principal professor Sue Rigby, and University of the West of Scotland principal, Professor James Miller about the financial difficulties they are facing. You might remember the exchange between former Scottish Conservative Leader Douglas Ross and Sir Peter Mathieson, who couldn't remember quite how many hundreds of thousands of pounds he was paid. Towards the end of the Gillies Report, it describes the then-Dundee University principal professor Ian Gillespie as 'an excellent public speaker' but warned there were 'many reports to this investigation that the principal frequently demonstrated hubris, or excessive pride in his role'. It added: 'Hubris is relevant insofar as it can be characterised by dangerous over self-confidence and complacency, often in combination with arrogance, contempt towards people who offer criticism and obsession with personal image and status.' That hubris almost saw the University of Dundee go bust and forced the taxpayer to cough up £122m to keep it going. This must be a wake up call not just to universities but to all those who sit on management boards of important institutions and public sector bodies. They must scrutinise and hold themselves to account because further down the line others will hold them to account. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
The National
13-06-2025
- Business
- The National
Should a supercomputer be a top priority amid a housing crisis?
At a very rough and admittedly simplistic calculation – and assuming you could build a decent flat for, say, £100,000 – the almost £1 billion price tag for the supercomputer could have been used to build around 10,000 homes. Politics is all about priorities and supercomputers seem these days to come before homes for our nation's homeless weans. More than 10,000 of them languish in so-call temporary accommodation today and will continue to do so every day for the foreseeable future. READ MORE: 5 things Scots should know from Rachel Reeves' spending review After the announcement I watched a TV interview with a suitably enthusiastic academic from the university who singularly failed to explain the actual (not theoretical) benefits of the supercomputer. In the meantime, Peter Mathieson, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, took to the press to say the supercomputer investment will have a 'transformative impact on the UK'. He went on to say 'This significant investment will have a profoundly positive impact on the UK's global standing'. Is this whole project primarily about 'the UK's global academic standing'? I am reminded of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a comedy science-fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. The number 42 is especially significant to its many fans because that number is the answer given by a supercomputer called Deep Thought which takes 7.5 million years to finally answer the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything. Perhaps The National could devote some column inches to an article from the university to inform us of the real – not theoretical – benefits of this massively expensive project and explain why it is at the top of the political agenda. Will it be obsolete before it is even switched on? READ MORE: Scottish Government 'short-changed by £1bn by Rachel Reeves' I am sure the academics of Edinburgh University will enjoy their new toy when it eventually does come online. The homeless of weans of Scotland less so. In sharp contrast, on March 28 2021 the then education secretary John Swinney said: 'If we are re-elected in May, the SNP will roll out a new programme to deliver into the hands of every school child in Scotland a laptop, Chromebook or tablet to use in school and at home. It will come with a free internet connection and full technical support. It will be updated when necessary, replaced when needed and upgraded as technology improves. As a child moves through their school life, it will change with them, going from the simpler devices needed at P1 to the more advanced in the senior phase of secondary'. That pledge has since fallen by the political wayside. So it's a supercomputer for academics but no laptops for our school children. Sandra West Dundee TRUMP'S false charge of race discrimination by the South African government against white farmers and offering them refuge in the US is an act of hostility against South Africa. Since South Africa took Israel to the International Court of Justice charging it with genocide, the US has ramped up its actions against South Africa. Trump's presidential order 'Addressing the Egregious Actions of South Africa' promoted the re-settlement of Afrikaners in the US and stated that South Africa had taken aggressive positions towards the United States including 'accusing Israel of genocide'. READ MORE: David Pratt: Donald Trump is reshaping democracy for authoritarians It added, 'The United States cannot support the government of South Africa in its undermining United States foreign policy which poses national security threats to our nation … and our interests.' It concluded that 'the United States shall not provide aid or assistance to South Africa.' It could not be made clearer that if you disagree with US support for Israel's actions then you will be punished. In South Africa's colonial and apartheid past, land distribution was grossly unequal on the basis of race. This remains the case. Whites own 70% of the land while being only 7% of the population. South Africa in addressing this issue passed the Land Expropriation Act. Land can be expropriated without compensation only in strictly defined circumstances. READ MORE: Donald Trump ambushes South African president with false 'white genocide' claims The United States intervention, making false claims about the act and what is happening to white farmers, whilst offering fast-tracked refuge to Afrikaners, is a disruptive interference in the affairs of a sovereign country. The US actions seem designed to destabilise South Africa and stop its support for the Palestinians. South Africa should be applauded for its humanitarian stance in support of the Palestinians and should also be assisted in its journey to overcome 300 years of colonialism and apartheid. Brian Filling Chair, Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) Scotland (successor organisation of the Anti-Apartheid Movement)
Scotsman
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
Too embarrassed to admit they're paid way more than the rest of us
The Scottish Parliament has enjoyed quite a few jaw-dropping moments in its 25-year history. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... I was in the chamber, reporting for this very newspaper, when Henry McLeish announced his shock resignation as first minister after only a year in post. He had got into a bit of a muddle with his office expenses. A friend of mine disrupted the passage of the controversial Gender Recognition Reform Bill when she raised her skirt in protest, exposing the merkin she had made from scraps in her craft box. And the decision to release the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, on compassionate grounds led to a special, and very heated, sitting of the Scottish Parliament. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But nothing had prepared me for Peter Mathieson, principal of Edinburgh University, who appeared in front of Holyrood's education committee last week to explain his plans to make £140 million in cuts to the university's budget – including a £90m saving on salaries. Pressed by Tory MSP Douglas Ross to reveal his own salary, Sir Peter stunned the room when he said he didn't know. 'I don't carry that figure around in my head,' he said. Now, let's pause there for a moment. One of the most prominent people in Scottish civic life, the head of an ancient university with a global reputation, a man responsible for the education of nearly 50,000 students a year, doesn't know how much he earns. Douglas Ross came to his rescue, pointing out to the hapless principal that his salary, including pension benefits, is about £418,000 year. He could also have mentioned Sir Peter's four-storey townhouse, paid for by the university, and various other perks, including an annual allowance for his energy bills and for entertaining. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Before his career as a university administrator, Sir Peter was a distinguished medical researcher who focused on autoimmune renal diseases – a profession which surely requires a keen eye for detail. How can he not know how much he earns? And I bet my annual state pension (£11,973 for 2024/25) that if you stopped ten people at random on Princes Street and asked them what they earned last year, all ten would be able to tell you, almost to the penny. In the real world, people are struggling to pay their own energy bills, make their mortgage or rental payments every month and keep the weekly supermarket shop on budget. We have to know exactly how much we earn, because every pound matters. Sir Peter Mathieson personifies the social divide in this country, where a small but very influential group of people are so divorced from real life that they don't need to know how much they earn, they just know it's a lot more than the rest of us. And many of them, like Sir Peter, are public servants – their inflated salaries paid for by the rest of us. NHS bosses with six-figure pay packets and gold-plated pensions. Quango chiefs on more than £300,000 annually. Even backbench MSPs earn £74,500 a year. Meanwhile, a social care worker is lucky if she earns more than £20,000. I don't think Sir Peter 'forgot' how much he earned. I think he was too embarrassed to publicly admit that he is paid way over the odds.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Edinburgh University boss who 'didn't know his own salary' spent £47k on luxury travel
A uni boss who told MSPs he didn't know his own £421,667 salary spent £47,000 on luxury foreign junkets in just two years. University of Edinburgh vice-chancellor and principal Sir Peter Mathieson racked up £42,456 on business class flights to destinations including South Africa, South Korea, the US and Hong Kong between March 2022 and May last year. An investigation by the Sunday Mail uncovered £3059 spent on accommodation, and £1336 on transport in Milan, London, Texas, Brussels, Warsaw and Hong Kong from September 2023 to last July. READ MORE: Tragedy as West Lothian man dies in crash after air ambulance lands on busy road READ MORE: Plans for former Edinburgh Fountain Park club and lounge to become restaurant It comes as his lecturers are set to walk out in a dispute over a refusal to rule out compulsory redundancies as part of plans to save £140million. The principal, who took the role in 2018, appeared at a Holyrood committee last week and claimed he didn't know how much he earned. Scottish Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills Miles Briggs said: 'When Sir Peter plans to cut many hundreds, and possibly more than a thousand, jobs at the University of Edinburgh, people will be surprised that there is still the budget for trips of this sort. 'International travel to promote the university may be reasonable, but it's difficult to see why it should cost tens of thousands of pounds while swingeing cuts are being made elsewhere and so many jobs could be under threat.' Unison's lead for universities, John Mooney said: 'People are appalled by the behaviour of Scotland's university top brass. Especially when the sector is in serious debt and hard-working staff are losing their jobs. 'Chancellors and principals get paid eye-watering salaries well beyond anything their students and staff could dream of. 'I can assure you ordinary university staff don't have the luxury of not knowing what their salaries are.' Mathieson – who earned £421,667 last year according to the uni's latest accounts – has racked up thousands on business class travel. A total of £8458 was spent on return business flights from Heathrow to South Africa's OR Tambo airport to visit the University of the Wit-watersrand in recognition of the importance of 'partners from the global south being in attendance' at a COP27 summit in May 2022. Expenses also included return flights from Edinburgh to South Korea which cost £8818 in May 2024. That was for a symposium aimed at fostering UK-Korea partnerships. He also claimed £4127 for return business class flights from Edinburgh to Washington in March 2022 and New Jersey in November 2023. And £4946 was spent to fly to Hong Kong in April last year. Holyrood committee convener Douglas Ross told Mathieson his reported six-figure package was more than the combined wages of First Minister John Swinney and PM Keir Starmer. Mathieson said: 'The figure that is often quoted in the press is something around £400,000 a year but I don't scrutinise my slip so I don't know the exact figure. 'I don't think it's quite as high as that but I'm certainly very well paid. 'I'd need to get my P60 out to show it to you but I don't carry that figure around in my head but I'm very well paid.' . He also confirmed he was given a five per cent pay rise last year and a 2.5 per cent increase this January When Ross asked if, given the cuts, a reduction in his salary would be beneficial, Mathieson said: 'I've made the point in the discussions about senior team pay that you could pay the senior team of Edinburgh university nothing and it would make almost no difference to the size of the expenditure challenge we face.' The expense figures were obtained by the Sunday Mail under Freedom of Information laws. Prior to March 2022, the university's travel management partner was Key Travel and as a result, in the 2021/22 financial year, the university does not hold details on flight class or destination. From August 1 2021 to February 28. 2022, the university holds only the year of the transaction, cost, and travel type. Members of the University and College Union will strike on June 20, with a five-day walkout in September. Mooney said: 'It's highly paid bosses' incompetence that got us into this mess but it's lower paid staff who pay the cost with their jobs and low pay. Our education system is too important for Scotland's skills, jobs and economy, we need to hold these people accountable.' The University of Edinburgh said: 'Each of these visits represent milestones for important projects and partnerships, many being the culmination of years of work by academics and professional staff from across the university.' It said its global profile is something it is 'hugely proud of' and added: 'As the University's most senior leader, the principal's presence at such events is vital for building relationships, encouraging investment and underlining our ongoing commitment to work with partners in delivering positive change worldwide.' Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.
