> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theferret.scot/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Dundee university might have too much cash to qualify for its taxpayer bailout - URL: https://www.theferret.scot/dundee-university-might-have-too-much-cash-to-qualify-for-its-taxpayer-bailout/ - Published: 2026-09-29T05:00:04.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-29T05:00:04.000Z - Description: The university has continued to argue staff cuts are needed to make ends meet. But a growing cash balance has raised questions about the need for more redundancies, and whether it qualifies for millions in public support. - Author: Paul Dobson - Tags: Education, Investigations, University of Dundee, PwC, Scottish Funding Council, Scottish Government, 24 hours **An audit firm has been asked to examine whether the apparently cash-strapped University of Dundee has too much money to receive another £27m in bailouts from taxpayers, The Ferret has learned.** The institution was at [risk of insolvency](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crmj00l38mro?ref=theferret.scot) in 2025, with an [independent review](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjel3ng04q4o?ref=theferret.scot) later blaming the crisis on years of financial mismanagement. The Scottish Government made £22m in emergency support available to Dundee in March 2025 to keep it afloat, and later [promised](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1mz5kj8z70o?ref=theferret.scot) it a further £40m in grants over two years to help it recover. The first £13m of this second package was paid in March 2026\. But [conditions](https://www.sfc.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/SFC-Offer-of-Grant-Section-25-Monies-UofD-March26-RefH26031.pdf?ref=theferret.scot) on the money mean the rest can only be claimed if Dundee has less than a “maximum funding threshold” of £30m in available cash. The Ferret has seen evidence that the university had a total cash balance of nearly £85m by the end of June this year. We understand this had risen again by August. The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) – the public body overseeing Dundee’s bailout – has now asked accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to examine the figures and advise whether the institution is eligible for £27m in further bailout funding. The local branch of the University and College Union (UCU) – whose members are in the midst of a [five-week strike](https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/14651/Dundee-University-staff-begin-five-week-strike?ref=theferret.scot) over the threat of compulsory redundancies – said our findings about Dundee’s cash position “call into question” the need for further job cuts. According to figures confirmed by the university, more than 800 staff have [already left](https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/5568485/dundee-university-staff-numbers/?ref=theferret.scot) since 2024. The SNP MSP for Dundee West, Heather Anderson, said she was “yet to be convinced” that the level of job losses at the institution was “required to meet financial sustainability”. A spokesperson for Dundee university confirmed the PwC probe and said it was “confident” it was meeting all conditions for the additional money which, they said, was “essential for the future sustainability of the university”. ****Back facts, not noise** Fact checks, explainers, and investigations take time. Supporting The Ferret helps keep our journalism rigorous, independent, and in the public interest. [Become a member ](https://www.theferret.scot/signup/) The £40m support package, [agreed in June 2025](https://www.gov.scot/news/direct-support-for-dundee-university/?ref=theferret.scot), was due to be paid in four instalments across the 2025-26 and 2026-27 academic years. Dundee applied for the second payment of £7m in June. In its application, the university estimated that it would have just under £80m in cash at the end of that month, around £5m lower than the actual figure. But it argued over £50m of this should not count because the money was not available to meet wages and other operational costs. This included money set aside for a major research project, an MRI scanner and the redevelopment of Bonar Hall. It also wanted the SFC to disregard £12m received as part of its previous £22m taxpayer bailout – a loan that was sitting unspent in a separate bank account. The university claimed these deductions left it with just under £30m in “net cash”. The SFC confirmed it was conducting a “robust review” of the university’s request for further funding but said it would be “inappropriate to comment” before that process had concluded. A spokesperson said: “As a public body, the SFC has a responsibility to ensure accountability for public funds. This includes ensuring that public funds are not released in advance of need.” The Ferret understands that PwC was expected to complete its work in September. [‘Nousferatu’: the notorious consultancy advising Edinburgh uni amid ‘huge’ cutsScotland’s largest university has turned to Nous Group at the same time as it is making savings that could lead to nearly 2,000 job losses. Staff say they were misled about the extent of its work.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2d/e2/2de2844d-80a7-4c7b-8025-6f1f39724aa6/content/images/icon/TheFerret_Favicon_White-1-8eacd5d9-874a-4069-8a4d-274539b28a1c.png)The FerretPaul Dobson![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2d/e2/2de2844d-80a7-4c7b-8025-6f1f39724aa6/content/images/thumbnail/iStock-1284979471-e30fe0c7-e087-4001-9d93-cb184351f001.jpg)](https://www.theferret.scot/consultancy-advising-edinburgh-huge-cuts/) Dundee [revealed](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98052l7y9po?ref=theferret.scot) in August that it was planning to cut a further 154 jobs to reduce costs. It said it was “[hopeful](https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/5565180/dundee-university-154-job-cuts-new-plan/?ref=theferret.scot)” that the redundancies would be voluntary, but would select staff for compulsory severance if enough volunteers were not found. The UCU claims 149 staff had applied for voluntary redundancy. The interim principal, Professor Nigel Seaton, said staffing levels overall had been reduced by “almost a third” as a result of its financial crisis, which he [described](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw980q7r04j7o?ref=theferret.scot) as the worst faced by any UK university since the Second World War. Despite the swingeing staff reductions, the university is still projecting a financial deficit of over £8m, The Ferret understands. The UCU has previously [argued](https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/5571085/dundee-university-job-cuts-fix-crisis/?ref=theferret.scot) that the “fundamental” structural problem at Dundee is that it carries out an “unusually” high level of research, which is subsidised by other parts of the university. It warned that staff cuts risk “hollowing out the institution rather than recovering it”. The university disputes this assessment. A spokesperson for the Dundee UCU said our findings about the institution’s cash position were “news to us, but not unexpected, sadly”. “The union has repeatedly expressed concerns about the accuracy of financial projections, including cash flow analysis, to the SFC and the cabinet secretary for education,” they said. [Explained: Why are Scottish universities worried about money?In recent months questions have been raised about the viability of the current funding system for Scotland’s higher education sector. But where do universities get their money from? Why are their budgets stretched? And how does the situation compare to other parts of the UK? Ferret Fact Service explains.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2d/e2/2de2844d-80a7-4c7b-8025-6f1f39724aa6/content/images/icon/TheFerret_Favicon_White-1-a9c9ed43-112e-4e38-b7a0-17f417a451a8.png)The FerretFerret Journalists![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2d/e2/2de2844d-80a7-4c7b-8025-6f1f39724aa6/content/images/thumbnail/istock-512390097-82c0c4ef-9432-44ea-934b-d4310c3367f5.jpg)](https://www.theferret.scot/why-are-scottish-universities-worried-about-money/) “We believe that the discrepancies highlighted in your findings call into question the need for further redundancies, whether voluntary or compulsory.” Local MSP Heather Anderson said she was concerned that the university had not conducted “genuinely meaningful” engagement with unions and the workforce which was a “key condition” of the SFC funding. Anderson added: “Since the summer of 2024, close to 1,000 hard-working staff will have lost their jobs through absolutely no fault of their own. This is a devastating blow for those staff, their families, and the wider city. “I was clear when I was elected that public money cannot be used to sack people. The SFC must ensure that the conditions of significant public funding have been met.” Iris Duane, the Scottish Greens’ education spokesperson, said management must “listen to the concerns of staff and unions and be more open about their current financial position”. Duane continued: “The university has already come close to meeting its staff job losses target. Rather than forcing through further cuts the university should urgently listen to staff and students.” A spokesperson for the University of Dundee said: “We have provided all the information requested to PwC, who have been employed by the SFC. “We are confident we are meeting all conditions regarding accessing the additional funding, which is essential for the future sustainability of the university.” A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Ministers are clear no public money will be used for job losses and the SFC will not release grant funding unless all conditions of funding are being complied with.”