A Comparison of Funding in Wales and England

Since 2005, the Welsh Assembly Government has asked HEFCW to produce estimates of the shortfalls in funding higher education – principally the gap between Wales and England.

The HEFCW Funding Gap report based on 2007/08 figures (published in December 2010) showed that there was a funding shortfall in Wales compared to England for the 2007/08 academic year of between £51-£69 million. This is slightly higher than for the previous year, 2006/07 that stood at £55-£66 million.   

In the context of escalating globalisation and Wales’s relative economic position (where Wales is the poorest and least productive part of mainland Britain), this HE-led economic transformation is urgently needed. The gap has an impact on the competitiveness of the Welsh HE sector compared to England in relation to students, and keeping and attracting research teams.

The report is available on the HEFCW website.