University boost for economy is close to £100bn
UNIVERSITIES GENERATE almost £100bn a year for the UK economy, according to a report.
Higher education institutions also support nearly a million jobs, equivalent to around three per cent of all UK employment, it says.
University leaders said the study showed the “huge and increasingly significant” impact universities have on the UK economy and jobs, and warned that higher education should not be “taken for granted”.
The report comes at a time when higher education is under growing pressure amid concerns about issues such as spiralling pay for university chiefs and debates over whether students are getting value for money from their £9,250 tuition fees.
The study, published by vicechancellors’ group Universities UK (UUK), found that in 2014-15 UK institutions, along with their international students and visitors, generated £95bn.
This includes things such as funds generated by links with businesses, research and money spent by staff and students in the local area.
The figure accounts for 2.9 per cent of all economic activity generated in the UK in 2014-15, the report says, and means that around £1 in every £34 of UK GDP can be attributed to the activities of universities and their international students’ and visitors’ expenditure.
In addition, universities, their international students and visitors supported more than 940,000 UK jobs. This includes not just staff and students but other local workers who indirectly work with institutions, such as cleaners, taxi drivers and construction workers.
A breakdown of the statistics show that universities contributed around £21.5bn to the econo- my through their own day-to-day operations alone, while international students, including on and off-campus spending and that of their visitors, generated £25.8bn.
The report says: “Universities employ thousands of staff throughout the country and through their direct activities they generate and deliver taxes to the Exchequer.
“But on top of this, they also have an important part to play in supporting a wide range of industries – their supply chains stretch far and wide supporting GDP and jobs, as the impact ripples through the economy.
“In the wider consumer economy, the presence of universities is strongly felt as their own staff and employees within their supply chains all spend money on retail, accommodation, leisure and transport, as do international students and visitors to those students.”