14 September 2007
Just over half of the buildings in Scotland's higher education sector are in poor condition and require expenditure of almost £700m to bring them up to standard, a public sector watchdog has found.
In a report published on September 13, Audit Scotland says there should be a sustained commitment to maintaining and developing the estate, which is worth almost £5bn.
While the condition of buildings in the sector is improving, with more money going into their development and upkeep, the Scottish Funding Council and the Scottish government need to tackle a growing backlog of maintenance, Audit Scotland advises.
Its report, Estate management in higher education, says HE institutions have spent £211m on capital and maintenance programmes since 2005/06 but there has been mixed progress. Of the £211m investment, £74m was public sector funding.
By March 2008, the SFC will have distributed £459m over seven years but it has not yet reported on the outcome of the investment, the report says.
Scotland's 21 HE institutions, which include universities and colleges, have almost 1,000 non-residential buildings across 72 sites. The report states: 'It is estimated that it would cost almost £0.7bn to bring the whole estate up to a good standard.'
According to the report, about 70% of the backlog is at five of the biggest university estates in Scotland. These are Strathclyde, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heriot-Watt and Dundee.
Auditor general Bob Black said: 'Increasing amounts of public money are going into developing and maintaining buildings at universities and other HE institutions… but there is still a significant and growing backlog of buildings that need work.'
He added that the condition of the facilities and buildings could affect both a student's decision on where to study and their experience once they were there. There were also wider implications for Scotland's economy.
Audit Scotland recommends that the SFC works with the Scottish government and institutions to support their strategic planning.
It said institutions should develop realistic funding plans to support their estate strategies and make better use of performance information.
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