The collective financial hit to Welsh universities from the rise in employer National Insurance contributions is around £18m, shows research from the Liberal Democrats.
The added running cost to universities come in the face of a challenging financial environment, fuelled in part by a decline in high fee paying international undergraduates and postgraduates.
Most universities in Wales, to offset projected deficits, have implemented voluntary redundancy schemes and cost-saving measures, including faculty mergers and courses being culled.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats said the Ƶ Government’s decision to increase employer National Insurance contributions (NICs), which came into effect in April, will leave Welsh universities will a combined £18m year additional cost in the 2025/26 academic year.
Cardiff University is set to be hit the hardest by the national insurance increase, with a predicted £6.7m annual hike, while Swansea University faces ab additional £3.5m burden.
The £6.7m figure from Cardiff University represents the equivalent of 30% of the £22m the university has said it needs to make in savings.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats said the £18m could be far better spent supporting teaching, research, and student services or could have helped avoid redundancies being pushed through by almost every Welsh university currently.
Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster spokesperson and MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe., David Chadwick, said: “Labour’s jobs tax is yet another blow to Welsh universities, coming at a time when they’re already facing mounting financial challenges. It’s completely unacceptable that Welsh universities are now being saddled with millions in extra costs just to meet a tax increase that could and should have been avoided.
“Our universities are not just centres of learning, they are vital employers and economic drivers in their communities. At a time when we should be investing in higher education to boost innovation, create jobs, and attract talent, this government has chosen instead to place a punitive burden on them.
“That £18m could have helped avoid some of the redundancies now being pushed through by universities right across Wales.
“This is why the Welsh Liberal Democrats opposed this rise from the start. Instead of investing in the future of our young people and protecting skilled jobs, Labour has chosen to penalise the very institutions that help power our economy and society.”
Freedom of Information request submitted by the Welsh Liberal Democrats to each of the universities in Wales, asking about the expected increase in NICs they were facing as a result of the policy change by the Ƶ Government,
They yielded the following responses:
University | Expected Annual NIC increase |
Aberystwyth University | £400,000 |
Bangor University | £1,800,000 |
Cardiff University | £6,720,000 |
Cardiff Metropolitan University | £1,900,000 |
University of South Wales | £1,700,000 |
Swansea University | £3,500,000 |
University of Wales Trinity Saint David | £1,495,931 |
Wrexham University | £588,000 |
Wales Total: | £18,103,931 |
