Why Obvious Solutions Fail
Chapter 11
Sources supporting this chapter, with the manuscript section they relate to and a note explaining how each item contributes.
Showing all 19 references
Evidence used
Material used to support factual claims and explanations in this chapter.
Source
Office for Students; May 2026
used for the section's claim that staff costs, excluding pension adjustments, accounted for just over half of English providers' expenditure in 2023-24 and 2024-25, making them the largest single category in the aggregate figures. This does not establish the cost structure of every provider.
Source
Office for Students; 16 May 2024
used for the chapter's account of financial pressure on providers, including the affordability of necessary estates maintenance and development, and the investment required to reduce carbon emissions.
Source
Office for Students; published 25 April 2023, last updated 14 May 2026
used for the discussion of universities needing prudent forecasts, early engagement with lenders, possible lender risk aversion, covenant discussions taking longer under current financial pressure, and the continuing requirement to protect students while addressing financial difficulty.
Source
Office for Students; last updated 24 November 2022
used for the section's references to OfS registration conditions and the continuing regulatory floor for registered providers.
Source
Office for Students; last updated 24 November 2022
used for the claim that registered providers must maintain student protection arrangements, consider risks to continuation of study, and implement their plans when relevant events occur.
Source
Office for Students
used for the claim that registered providers must have student protection plans and that these plans cover course, campus or institution closure, continuation of study, completion, transfer and compensation where completion is not possible.
Source
Office for Students; 24 June 2025
used for the section's account of what course or campus closure requires: reporting significant closure of a subject area, department or campus to the OfS; early communication; teach-out or transfer arrangements; review of student commitments; contact with applicants and offer-holders; discussion with relevant professional, statutory or regulatory bodies and validators; and updates to advertising.
Source
Competition and Markets Authority; 31 May 2023
used for the section's reference to consumer-law and contract constraints around course information, changes to pre-contract information, fair terms, student complaints and the difficulty students face in switching provider or course after enrolment.
Source
Association of University Directors of Estates; 17 January 2025
used for the chapter's treatment of estates as a live financial and operational constraint, including maintenance, safety, energy use, space utilisation and long-term estate planning.
Source
GOV.UK
used for the claim that redundancy proposals involve consultation duties, including collective consultation where 20 or more redundancies are proposed within 90 days at a single establishment, with minimum periods before dismissal; also used for the section's distinction between ordinary redundancy process and the collective consultation threshold.
Source
Acas; updated 7 April 2026
used for the discussion of employee representation, consultation and potential protective awards where collective consultation duties are breached.
Source
Department for Business and Trade; published 26 February 2026, updated 26 March 2026
used to flag the future organisation-wide trigger provided for by the Employment Rights Act 2025 and the need to recheck the threshold before publication.
Source
Insolvency Service; updated 9 December 2025
used for the claim that employers proposing 20 or more redundancies at one establishment within 90 days must notify the Redundancy Payments Service and observe 30- or 45-day minimum notification and consultation periods depending on the scale of proposed dismissals.
Source
Home Office and UK Visas and Immigration; 2026
used for the claim that student sponsors retain duties, including reporting and Basic Compliance Assessment requirements, while sponsored students remain and are taught out.
Source
Home Office and UK Visas and Immigration; 2026
used for the claim that UKVI monitors student-sponsor compliance and may take action or impose sanctions for breaches.
Source
UK Research and Innovation; 1 April 2026
used for the section's claim that live research awards carry continuing grant-management, research governance, equipment, financial reporting, transfer, staffing and full-economic-cost obligations that do not disappear immediately when a university narrows its research base.
Source
UK Research and Innovation; 1 April 2026
used for the section's claim that doctoral studentships and training grants bring continuing responsibilities for student administration, supervision, welfare, ethics, data handling, reporting and compliance with funder conditions.
Source
Financial Reporting Council; September 2024 edition
used for the distinction between recognising a restructuring provision or charge and the timing of the associated cash expenditure.
Go deeper
Selected contextual material that extends or complements the chapter.
Further reading
Advance HE
useful context on the 2025 estates management findings, including rising property costs and signs of worsening condition across parts of the higher education estate.
Try a broader search or choose “All chapter sources”.