Today’s parliamentary session has ended. This article will continue to be updated throughout the day…
Latest update: 16:23
Nigel Seaton has appeared in parliament to face MSP’s questions on the status of the University.
MSP Douglas Ross is heading the session as Convener.
He also led the grilling’s of former Principals Shane O’Neill, and the long since absent Iain Gilliespie, whom were both thoroughly charred by the end of each session.
Seaton is set face similar, intensive questioning.
On former Chief Financial Officer Chris Reilly’s speedy exit:
Upon Douglas Ross’ questioning on Lee Hamill’s predecessor, both he and Principal Seaton have stated that undergoing advice the University’s own legal team they “can’t say anything” about that due to an ongoing legal case.
Chris Reilly left the university on “bad terms” after a meeting with Seaton and Acting Chair of Court, Ian Mair.
It seems as though he had taken one look at the state of the University’s financial situation and took to his heels.
It is also reported that he had zero confidence in the university’s new senior management team.
Transparency
Seaton has talked of his and his team’s dedication to be transparent with staff and students, but that dedication seems to have been quickly forgotten, as Convener Ross highlights:
“I got no update on the financial statements because you reserved that information, and I got no update on the financial recovery plan, procurement, student numbers update, blueprint updates and SFC, indicative funding, all of these things are reserved business in the public minutes.
“Now, you’re happy to tell us about two and a half 1000 students looking at the sports facility, but you’re not happy to make any of this information public.
“Should the University of Dundee not be far more transparent than that?”
Seaton didn’t have too much to say on the matter, other than emphasising his previous point that he is “personally committed to transparency.”
On Job losses:
There is a clear indication that the UEG will be seeking more University job losses, and today’s session has been very forthcoming in regard to that.
MSP’s questioned Seaton on how many jobs the UEG is looking to cut, and no clear answer was given.
However, the voluntary jobs losses, which have seen over 300 staff apply for redundancy, have proved to be insufficient, and more will be required.
Over 500 staff have left since the last academic year, however, Seaton has confirmed that 275 of those positions are required, and so new staff have been acquired for those roles.
Seaton could not give MSPs a clear number to the further “required” job losses, but that it would be “substantial.”
Maggie Chapman, Dundee University Rector, highlighted that in August of 2024 staff numbers were at 4367 post Voluntary Redundancy Scheme. That number has fallen to 3698, a difference of 669 full-time and part-time positions.
Lack of Engagement
The below quotes are all from Nigel Seaton, addressing concerns from MSP’s that University staff have received very little in terms of engagement from the UEG:
“I’ve been open in communication with staff”.
“I’ve been present at Town Hall meetings”.
“We will provide staff with anything they ask for”.
Towards the validity of this statement, this is unclear. Judging by staff comments from previous town hall meetings, the most potent of which described the new UEG as a perpetuation of “the old regime”, referring to the previous management that plunged the University into the financial crisis in the first place.
Staff unions have been contacted for comment on this.
Buildings vs Staff
MSP Michael Marra began his questioning saying that the UEG has previously stated their intent to allocate funds to “a surplus [that] has to be generated in order to make nicer buildings”.
He argued that staff have been left feeling undervalued due to this, as the potential looms to lose out on their livelihoods due to “building nicer buildings”.
In response, Seaton said:
“all staff and student have the right to work in reasonable conditions.
“It cannot be right that we allow the quality of the campus to deteriorate simply to sustain employment.”
Strike Action
The following weeks will see members of the Dundee University Campus Union (DUCU) go on strike. This will no doubt affect the studies of many students across campus.
However, the main reason for strike action, in Seaton’s own words, “is because the University has not ruled out compulsory redundancies”.
He continued saying he could “not guarantee anything towards retaining the level of employability that the university has now.”
Student Numbers
Despite the impact of the crisis, Seaton remarked that student recruitment numbers remain high. In particular, there has been a 4% rise in Scottish students.
The numbers had “exceeded expectations,” added Seaton.
A summary of the last 30 minutes of session by Tony Nguyen:
Seaton is not able to answer the convenor’s question on how radical his measures could be.
The convenor hinted at the possibility of a merge similar to that of Kent and Greenwich university, but Seaton said this is not necessary and is not the solution,
Lee Hamill, Interim Finance Officer disagreed with Seaton’s comments that they don’t plan to ask for more money from the government.
On explaining the gap between the deficits (44 million) and the funding from the Scottish government (40 million), Hamill did not give a clear answer that also left the convenor confused about the 4 million still needed. He did indicate, however, that if there is no further grants from the government or no more cost reduction measures, that deficit would increase.
This clearly hinted that unless a grant is issued, further cost reduction measures might be taken to decrease the deficit. Such measures might include voluntary or compulsory redundancies.
Watch on Parliament TV
Re-watch the parliament session here: https://www.scottishparliament.tv/meeting/education-children-and-young-people-committee-october-29-2025
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