East Lancs colleges’ grants rise despite UK cuts (From Lancashire Telegraph)

East Lancs colleges’ grants rise despite UK cuts

12:36pm Friday 19th March 2010 in

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UNIVERSITIES in East Lancashire have been given extra funds — despite £500million cuts across the country.

The University Centre at Blackburn College will be given £10.541million – a 12.3 per cent– increase, and the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), which has a base in Burnley, will see a 2.5 per cent increase which amounts to £78.580million.

But Accrington and Rossendale College, which runs higher education courses, will only receive £679,000 a 1.3 per cent drop, but bosses said they had a number of alternative sources of fundings.

Education bosses have been waiting anxiously to see if they would be affected by Government spending cuts which help pay for research, innovation and teaching at the centres.

UCLan was the second highest funded university in the North West and Blackburn College was handed the most money from the region’s further education colleges.

The Higher Education Funding Council for England yesterday announced how it would distribute £7.3billion to 130 universities and higher education colleges, and 123 directly funded further education colleges, for the next academic year.

Accrington and Rossendale College principal, Stephen Carlisle said: “While our funding council allocation has been slightly reduced from last year, our funding comes from a number of sources and overall, we are pleased to have seen an increase in this area.”

Blackburn College says it can now offer 299 additional places starting in September.

Principal Ian Clinton said: “We are delighted the college has been given extra allocation at a time of so many cuts and the recession.”

UCLan’s vice-chancellor Malcolm McVicar said: “Overall the funding council’s allocation for UCLan is better than we expected and we have seen an increase of 2.5 per cent in our total recurrent grant for the financial year.”