How Yorkshire’s universities can help ‘level up’ Britain – Dr Peter O’Brien

Yorkshire, unfortunately, has not been spared its share of the pain. The region, already experiencing some of the starkest health and socio-economic inequalities in the country, has been affected significantly.

Before the pandemic, the Government gave a commitment to ‘level up’ the UK, and to narrow the gaps in prosperity and opportunities between regions. This agenda matters more than ever before.

Putting the UK economy on a new, and more resilient footing, will require a collective effort by all and education will be instrumental to our success.

Given the size of the higher education sector in Yorkshire, universities rightly will be expected to feature strongly in the local recovery plans being led by Mayors, Combined Authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships.

In 2018-19, our universities contributed collectively £3bn towards the region’s economy, and 68,500 students graduated from our institutions. As major employers, 56,000 jobs are dependent on the region’s universities and their supply chains. Universities play a crucial role in securing foreign direct investment and increased trade.

Since the emergence of the pandemic, universities have been working closely alongside the NHS, health and care sector, local authorities, colleges, companies and communities in response to the public health emergency.

This local and regional focus has also been complemented by research being undertaken by universities in Yorkshire, which is contributing directly to global efforts to defeat Covid-19.

But the lockdown has left universities here facing major uncertainties and financial problems. Universities have never closed, but they have moved most of their teaching online. Many students are keen to continue their studies in person when it is safe to do so.

And universities are doing everything in their power to realise this. But some international students – last year universities in Yorkshire attracted 196,000 students from over 120 countries – may not, for understandable reasons, be able to come to Yorkshire at the start of the next academic year.

This would lead to significant reductions in income for universities, exacerbating challenges faced since the lockdown from lower revenues from business projects and commercial activity.

Securing the institutional and financial stability of universities in Yorkshire is essential given their role in skills, training (and retraining), research and innovation, knowledge exchange and enabling more people to enter higher education.

In Yorkshire, one-third of young people aged 18 progress to higher education. In an ever more complex world, we need to develop all the talent we can, and continue to invest in and improve access to higher education. In recent days, we have called on the Government:

To provide sufficient resources and tools for places and institutions in Yorkshire to build a more inclusive, prosperous, healthier and resilient region.

To recognise the distinct role of universities and the contributions they have played during the Covid-19 pandemic.

To back the higher education sector with a sustainable programme of financial support that would enable universities, through research, teaching and civic missions, to increase their contribution towards economic and social recovery in Yorkshire.

The Government has announced immediate support measures for higher education, including temporary caps on student numbers, as well as bringing forward some research funding and tuition fee income in 2020-21. A new national research task force has also been established.

These measures should enable universities to manage some short-term financial challenges. However, a commitment to a more substantial programme of support is required.

Education will underpin our attempts to recover and rebuild from the impact of the pandemic, and to narrow regional inequalities. All parts of the education system have a crucial role to play, including early-years, school, further and higher education.

But regions such asYorkshire need to enhance their education assets to create new opportunities and prosperity and this investment would help to build a valuable and lasting legacy from the crisis.

Dr Peter O’Brien is Executive Director of Yorkshire Universities.

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