The Scottish Funding Council has determined that the university has too much cash to receive a taxpayer bailout. Unions say it shows the level of cuts at Dundee is unnecessary.
Local people filmed a large balloon meant to provide last-ditch communications in a nuclear war deflating and crashing. But the Ministry of Defence won’t say anything about it.
Derelict buildings across Scotland are creating a plethora of problems. Local communities are bearing the brunt.
The Scottish Funding Council has determined that the university has too much cash to receive a taxpayer bailout. Unions say it shows the level of cuts at Dundee is unnecessary.
The University of Dundee has been refused a £7m taxpayer bailout payment following an investigation into its finances, which was first revealed by The Ferret.
The payment was due to be the second instalment of a £40m emergency funding package from the Scottish Government. Dundee received the first £13m in March.
Last week, we revealed that the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) – the public body overseeing Dundee’s bailout – had asked accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to advise whether the university’s cash balance of around £80m was too high for it to qualify for more bailout funding.
Interim principal, Professor Nigel Seaton, told staff on Wednesday the SFC had decided the university had not met the conditions to receive the £7m “at this time”.
Seaton stressed that the remaining £27m in grants had not been withdrawn and could still be claimed before 31 July 2027, if Dundee complies with the funding agreement. He added that the decision did not put the university at risk of insolvency.
Helping you make sense of what really matters
From fact checks to investigations and explainers, The Ferret helps cut through noise with journalism that is careful, sourced, and worth your time.
But the Dundee branch of the University and College Union (UCU) said the university’s cash position and the SFC decision raised “serious questions about the necessity” of redundancies at the university which it said should be “halted immediately”.
The Ferret’s reporting prompted the SNP MSP for Dundee City West, Heather Anderson, to call on the university to pause job cuts until its finances had been “fully reviewed”. However the university has told us there would be “no pause to the redundancy process, which is separate from the SFC funding”.
Paul Dobson
More than 800 staff have already left Dundee since 2024, with a further 154 redundancies being sought through an ongoing voluntary redundancy scheme.
Dundee faced insolvency in spring 2025, with an independent review blaming the crisis on years of financial mismanagement. The Scottish Government made £22m in emergency loans and grants available in March 2025 to keep it afloat. This was followed by the promise of a further £40m in grants over two years to help it recover.
However this additional money could only be claimed if the university had less than £30m in available cash.
Evidence seen by The Ferret shows that Dundee had a balance of nearly £85m at the end of June, although the university claims this had reduced to £79m by the end of August and most of it cannot be spent on day-to-day expenses.
In an email to staff Seaton said that management was discussing the decision with the SFC. He claimed the funding council had acknowledged the disagreement over how Dundee’s cash should be counted was “subjective”.
He wrote: “We had planned for the contingency of not receiving this funding to the anticipated timeline and have mitigations in place to minimise the impact on our cashflow.
“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.”
A spokesperson for the Dundee UCU pointed out the university had repeatedly said the SFC funding was “essential” for its future sustainability.
They added: “If the university does not need £27m to be financially viable, its financial case for further redundancies – which would deliver only a fraction of that saving – has collapsed.
“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. In light of the most recent revelations on the university’s financial position, staff cuts must be halted immediately.”
Go beyond the headlines with us
Deeper investigations, clear explainers, and reporting with real impact all depend on your support.
Local people filmed a large balloon meant to provide last-ditch communications in a nuclear war deflating and crashing. But the Ministry of Defence won’t say anything about it.
Derelict buildings across Scotland are creating a plethora of problems. Local communities are bearing the brunt.
A total of 36 boats have been fined £140,000 in the last 10 months for entering Scotland's marine protected areas. But campaigners claim the fines are too small and may not be a sufficient deterrent.
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.
