Scotland’s £5 billion higher education estate needs a sustained commitment to its upkeep

The condition of buildings in Scotland’s higher education (HE) sector is improving, with more money going into their development and upkeep. But institutions, the Scottish Funding Council and the Scottish Government need to tackle a growing maintenance backlog.

An Audit Scotland report published today, Estate management in higher education, says there should be a sustained commitment to maintaining and developing the estate, which is worth almost £5 billion.

Scotland’s 21 HE institutions, which include universities and colleges, have almost 1,000 non-residential buildings across 72 sites. While spending on the estate has increased in recent years, almost half of it needs to be improved over the next few years. It will cost approximately £700m to bring it all up to a sound standard. Public sector money accounts for about a third of HE institutions’ spending on their estates.

Auditor General for Scotland Robert W Black said: ‘Increasing amounts of public money are going into developing and maintaining new and existing buildings at universities and other HE institutions. The overall condition of the estate is improving but there is still a significant and growing backlog of buildings that need work.’

The report recommends the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) works with the Scottish Government and institutions to support their strategic planning. It says institutions should develop realistic funding plans to support their estate strategies and make better use of performance information.

In 2005/06, HE bodies spent £211 million on their estates. Of this, £74 million was public sector funding. By March 2008, the SFC will have distributed £459 million to improve the estate over the previous seven years. However the SFC does not yet publicly report on the outcome of this investment.

The SFC started providing funding specifically for the HE estate in 2001/02. Since then the overall condition of the estate has improved, but the maintenance backlog has also grown. About 70% of the backlog is at five of the biggest university estates reflecting their size; those at the Universities of Strathclyde, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heriot-Watt and Dundee.

Mr Black said: ‘The condition of the facilities and buildings at a higher education institution can affect both a student’s decision on where to study and their experience once there. There are also wider implications for Scotland’s economy. For example, new or improved research facilities can attract investment as well as leading academics and overseas students, and contributes to Scotland’s knowledge and skill base and attractiveness to private businesses.’