The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has not released £7 million of funding to the University after failing to meet its terms.
The SFC has exclusively informed The Jute Journal (TJJ) that it does not hold the same view of what is defined as restricted and unrestricted cash as the University.
University communication to staff stated that as of August, the University’s cash balance was around £79 million in cash reserves but only around £12.9 million of this is unrestricted, and the rest cannot be repurposed to support the ongoing financial crisis.
A spokesperson for the SFC said that:
“The University states that they only have £12.9m unrestricted cash, yet SFC’s professional view states that they have not met the funding conditions because they have more than £30m of available cash.
We respect the university’s position. However, we followed a robust process to review the financial details of the drawdown request and assessed them against three different accounting methodologies. We are confident in the conclusion that was reached.
SFC followed a robust process, including third-party review, on which to base its advice to Scottish Ministers. The accounting definition of restricted cash applies a strict interpretation. It is our professional view that this has been applied. Internal conditions applied through the University’s governance processes do not apply to the technical definition of restricted cash.”
It has emerged that the University’s Senate was informed of the SFC’s decision not to release funding, two days after the University was made aware.
In an email to staff, Interim Principal Professor Nigel Seaton said:
“By our interpretation of the conditions of grant, our Net Cash Balance at the time of submitting the drawdown request, June 2026, met this particular condition. We are discussing this with the SFC, who have a different view, which they concede is subjective.
We had planned for the contingency of not receiving this funding in the anticipated timeline and have mitigations in place to minimise the impact on our cash flow. The University is not at risk of insolvency as a result of this decision, but it does have an impact on our planning, budgeting and resource allocation.
We are now exploring those consequences in the short, medium and long-term.”
A spokesperson from Dundee University and College Union (DUCU), who are currently striking over planned compulsory redundancies at the University, said:
“Admission that the withdrawal of this supposedly essential funding does not place the University at risk of bankruptcy raises two fundamental questions: first, it calls into question the accuracy of the statements repeatedly made by the CFO (Chief Finance Officer) regarding the University’s financial position and its dependence on SFC funding; second, it raises serious questions about the necessity and proportionality of the redundancies being pursued on the basis that they are required to secure the University’s financial position.
Above all, this debacle makes clear that staff and students should not be made to pay the price for the University’s continued governance failures.”