To ask the Minister for the Economy whether her Department has made any assessment of the impact of job losses in Ulster University, particularly in relation to the campus in North Belfast.

Dr Archibald

Ulster University has announced the commencement of a process inviting applications under a voluntary redundancy scheme. Ulster University is an autonomous institution, and decisions relating to staffing are a matter for it. My Department continues to engage with the university on the issue. I encourage the university to continue its constructive engagement with trade unions, and I hope that any compulsory redundancies will be avoided. It is still too early in the process to fully assess or quantify the impact on any individual campus, including the north Belfast campus. I recognise that this will be a worrying and uncertain time for staff. I remain committed to securing a sustainable future for our higher education sector. That is why, along with my Executive colleagues, I have consistently highlighted the unsustainable nature of our current funding arrangements and continue to press the British Government for a fair and sustainable funding settlement that protects public services and supports economic development, including investment in higher education.

Dr Archibald

I thank the Member for her question. The first stage of the higher education funding review was an independent financial needs assessment of the different higher education institutions. That was completed, and a summary report was published earlier in the year. Officials are engaging with the sector on the next steps for the wider review, and I expect proposals to be brought to me very shortly. In the meantime, I have taken some steps to try to support the sector where possible. I know that the Member will appreciate the challenges in trying to achieve that in the current budgetary context. We have allocated some additional funding to St Mary's University College and Stranmillis University College in recognition of the challenges facing them as small institutions. The Department also commissioned specific work on Ulster University's multi-campus model, and that has been completed. Despite the budgetary challenges that we face, we have sought to prioritise funding for skills and specifically for our further and higher education institutions. Over the past couple of years, we have been successful in advocating for additional in-year funding. That is not a replacement for having a sustainable baseline for our further and higher education institutions, which is what I, personally, am working to achieve in the context of the current Budget negotiations. Work is ongoing with our higher education institutions on how we take forward the higher education funding review. It is important work, and we need to ensure that we have the budgetary capacity behind it.

Ms Hunter

Minister, given that we share a constituency, you will know that many of our constituents are staff or students who feel that they are paying the price for years of underfunding in higher education. Will you expand on the urgent discussions that you have had with Ulster University to protect jobs and safeguard teaching and research and with those impacted on to ensure that campuses outside Belfast and in our constituency are not disproportionately affected?

Dr Archibald

I thank the Member for her question. As I said to Miss McAllister, my top priority in the ongoing Budget negotiations is to achieve additional funding so that we can invest in our further and higher education institutions. As skills, which include further and higher education, make up 75% of my budget, we invest significantly in our institutions, including our higher education institutions, but it has been a challenge over recent years. Between 2016-17 and 2024-25, the Executive's Budget as a whole increased by 58%. The budget for my Department in that time increased by only 1%. That is because of the investment that we have made in Health and Education, but it has had an impact on other Departments and made it really challenging to keep up with the inflationary costs that we are experiencing. I want to invest more in our further and higher education system. It is worth noting, however, that, of the two campuses outside Belfast, Magee has seen a 22% increase in student numbers since the Executive returned, and Coleraine has seen a 12% increase in student numbers since the Executive returned. We see good progress, but I recognise that we have more to do and that we need to stabilise our higher education funding system.

Mr Carroll

A few months ago, in this Building, I hosted a delegation of Unite, UNISON and University and College Union (UCU) workers who outlined their concerns about job losses at Ulster University. There was also a huge concern about the impact of job losses, compulsory and voluntary, on students and workers. Minister, have you or your officials raised those concerns and objections to the job cuts directly with the university?

Dr Archibald

I thank the Member for his question. Likewise, I have met the unions that represent workers at Ulster University, and I have continued to engage with the trade unions and the university. There are particular financial challenges that face our universities, and that is why we continue to engage to try to get a better funding settlement for the Executive as a whole. I will seek to get my fair share of any settlement as part of the Budget negotiations because we need to rebalance what we invest in our economy and our further and higher education system. It is important that that is reflected in the time ahead, because we want to ensure that our institutions are sustainable and that our young people get a good experience in college. We need to invest, and I recognise that that has been a challenge in recent years.

Mr Boggs

I commend the measures that the Minister has already taken to better support our universities right across the North. In previous answers, she mentioned the proposed redundancies. Does the Minister agree that it demonstrates that more funding is required? Will she reconfirm her commitment to making that case?

Dr Archibald

I thank the Member for his question. Yes, I certainly agree that it is clear that more funding is required. The proposed redundancies very much highlight the financial pressures that face our universities. It creates challenges for the institutions and for the staff and students. As I said to other Members, it underscores the importance of the Executive securing a fair funding settlement that enables us to invest in our public services, including higher education institutions. My Department, as I have reflected, like all Departments, faces an extremely challenging financial situation. There have been difficult decisions to make and things to do as we navigate the current situation. In that context, we have also been able to do some good things that I have already mentioned. However, working alongside my Executive colleagues, I will continue to make the case for a better and fairer funding settlement for the Executive and, as I said, for my fair share of it for my Department.

Mr Nesbitt

Minister, has there been an assessment of the impact of the job losses on the number of courses being offered at third level? What is the potential consequential impact on the economy of fewer courses?

Dr Archibald

I thank the Member. As I have mentioned in previous answers to Members, we do not yet have the full details of the impact of the redundancies and where exactly they might have an impact specifically. Therefore, it has not been possible thus far to determine any potential impacts on courses or qualifications. Obviously, it is for the institutions to determine how they organise and deploy their resources and what they offer. It is important, however, for the Economy Committee and the Department to have a view of and to oversee that, because, as discussed, it is important that we ensure that the skills and qualifications that people leave our universities with meet the needs of our economy and society more widely. We will continue to work with the universities on that, in the time ahead, as we navigate the challenges of our finances, while making the case for additional funding to better invest in our further and higher education system.

Madam Principal Deputy Speaker

I call Áine Murphy. Minister, you have less than a minute.