Universities are key to economic recovery, government told

The United Kingdom government is being urged to ensure England’s universities play a central role in the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, writes Jamie Prentis for The National.

Universities UK, the collective voice of 140 higher education institutions in the country, said the sector contributed £95 billion (US$128.7 billion) to the economy and supported more than 815,000 jobs.

Ahead of its three-year spending review next month, the government was told it should ensure sustainable funding for universities, maintain the UK’s position as a research leader and support students from disadvantaged and mature backgrounds. That was according to Universities UK’s submission to the government before the spending review, which was aided by new research from consultancy Frontier Economics.
Full report on The National News site