University bosses have come under fire for racking up almost £8million in expenses over the past two years. Vice-chancellors and senior staff have claimed money for fresh flowers, cocktails, scented candles and, in one case, £1,600 for relocating a pet dog from Australia to the UK.
The revelation comes as an estimated 45,000 lecturers are striking across 64 universities in a row over pension changes that the University and College Union (UCU) says could cost them up to half their retirement income.
The plethora seemingly frivolous items will likely anger staff taking industrial action and has led for an MP to call it the vice-chancellor’s ‘duckhouse moment’ a reference to the £1,600 floating duck island claimed by Tory MP Peter Viggers in 2009.
Vice-chancellor of the University of Portsmouth, Graham Galbraith (left) claimed £5,187.33 for a hotel stay in Malaysia. Professor Steve West (right) the Vice-Chancellor of the University of West of England spent more than £10,000 on taxis and £7,000 on trips of Malaysia
Vice-chancellors have also claimed for five-star hotels, first-class air travel and Michelin-starred dinners, an investigation by Channel 4 Dispatches has found.
Perhaps the most outlandish claim came from the The University of Surrey who payed their new vice-chancellor £1,600 to relocate his Maltese dog called Oscar from Australia to the UK as part of a £15,000 settlement package.
The University defended the actions saying it was normal practice to pay ‘reasonable relocation expenses’.
Sir Keith Burnett (left) claimed £3,107.54 for a five-night stay at the exclusive Mandarin hotel in Singapore for him and his wife. Robert Halfon MP (right) who chairs the education select committee, said the examples in the report are ‘pretty extreme’
Other obscure claims included a pornstar martini, £110 for a Fortnum and Mason hamper, £79 for a silver salver, £32.50 for four Laura Ashely mugs and £1,3000 for a piece of art.
Professors and senior staff were also found to claim expensive hotel stays as well as dining and entertainment.
Vice-chancellor of the University of Portsmouth, Graham Galbraith, claimed £5,187.33 for a four-night stay at the five-star Intercontinental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as well as return flights.
Professor Roger Brown, formerly the vice-chancellor of the University of West London will say the use of expense accounts is symptomatic of the ‘corporatisation of higher education’
Sally Hunt (left) general secretary of the University and College Union criticised Steve West (right) for being ‘chauffeur driven’ while sitting on the board for the Office of Students
He wasn’t the only one to make claims for five-star hotels. University of Sheffield boss, Sir Keith Burnett, claimed £3,107.54 for a five-night stay at the exclusive Mandarin hotel in Singapore for him and his wife.
In total, vice-chancellors claimed almost £400,000 in dining and entertainment expenses over the two-years. This included claims for dinner at a two Michelin-star restaurant in New York, a lunch bill of £2405, and a dinner bill of £1,000.
On Dispatches, which will be screened tomorrow evening, Professor Roger Brown, formerly the vice-chancellor of the University of West London will say the use of expense accounts is symptomatic of the ‘corporatisation of higher education’.
Twelve of the 157 universities were approached for the programme, including Oxford and Cambridge, either refused to cooperate or did not respond to freedom of information requests.
Based on nearly 200 responses, including individual responses from Oxbridge colleges, to freedom of information requests, Dispatches found that at least £7.8million was claimed by vice-chancellors and their senior staff over two years.
The biggest spender was the senior staff at the University of Southampton, who claimed nearly £400,000 in expenses over two years. The university have said all were legitimate and scrutinised.
Robert Halfon MP, who chairs the education select committee, said this is the MP’s ‘duckhouse moment’ in reference to the £1,600 floating duck island (right) claimed by Tory MP Peter Viggers (left) in 2009
The revelations will likely reignite debate over vice-chancellor pay and remuneration to University leaders at a time when students are paying £9,250 a year in tuition fees. Pictured, university students speaker on the programme
Professor Steve West, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of West of England spent more than £10,000 on taxis and £7,000 on trips of Malaysia and Australia racking up to a lofty £43,000 in total.
UWE said: ‘Our vice-chancellor has a number of roles that require him to travel to London and other parts of the UK regularly.
‘His work in the higher education sector at a national level, the relationships this builds with business and industry leaders and the government all [benefit] students and the University’.
Earlier this year, the government set up a new watchdog, the Office for Students, in order to address criticism of vice-chancellor’s pay and free speech on campus. The board includes Professor West.
Robert Halfon MP, who chairs the education select committee, said the examples in the report are ‘pretty extreme’.
‘Those kinds of examples are pretty shocking. Dare I say it being an MP, but the dog example is slightly comparable to duckhouses, which caused the expense scandal for members of parliament in the first place’ he added.
‘This is public money, and just as it’s a requirement now for MPs to publish their expenses.
‘Universities should be subject to the same procedures. No one has a problem with legitimate expenses, although of course like everywhere Universities have to be very careful with public money especially in times of austerity.
‘But it should be up there for all to see, to use that old cliché sunlight is the best disinfectant. ‘We live in an age of transparency, we live in an age of accountability. We have enormous pressures on the public sector. We have a duty to the taxpayer, we have a duty to the student’ he added.
The revelations will likely reignite debate over vice-chancellor pay and remuneration to University leaders at a time when students are paying £9,250 a year in tuition fees.
UK universities currently rake in £17bn a year from tuition fees alone and more than 50 vice-chancellors are now earning in excess of £300,000 a year.
In many cases, in addition to their salary and expense accounts, Vice Chancellors are given what is called a ‘Grace and Favour’ home where the individual lives rent free.
In contrast, lower ranking academics have received an average pay increase of one percent since 2012, a fall in real terms.
Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union said: ‘A university isn’t about first-class travel. It’s not about posh restaurants. It’s about brilliant people, it’s about learning and it’s about a team environment.’
‘One of the things that the Office for Students is going to be doing, is drawing up a set of criteria that they want Vice Chancellors to abide by when it comes to remuneration and pay. So the person who is going to be helping to do that thinks it’s okay to have a chauffeur driven car. Let’s think what the students are going to think about that shall we.’
Dispatches: Britain’s University Scandal is on C4 at 8pm on Monday 26 February.