The University of Edinburgh forks out thousands to pay for the chancellor’s New Town mansion.
A freedom of information request from The Tab Edinburgh found the institution paid over £8,000 to cover his council tax, gas and electric bills over the past year.
The figures come amid a week of strikes undertaken by staff at the university, protesting potential compulsory dismissal.
Sophia Woodman, president of the UCU Edinburgh branch called it a “slap in the face” of struggling staff that Sir Peter has not been impacted while “budgets are tight”.
Staff have set up picket lines across campus (Via UCU)
The university claims that savings of £140 million are required to cover funding shortfalls, in part caused by a reduction in international students coming to Edinburgh.
Over 350 staff have accepted voluntary redundancies, but the university has refused to take compulsory dismissal off the tables, despite repeated calls from the University College Union (UCU).
The Chancellor has been criticised for his spending previously, having used university cash to pay for £40,000 worth of business class flights to destinations like Hong Kong and New York.
He was also found to have spend over £1,000 landscaping his New Town mansion to install a eucalyptus tree.
Now, The Tab Edinburgh can reveal that from August 1st 2024 to June 30th 2025, the university covered £4,350 of Sir Peter’s council tax bill as well as payment of £2,027 for gas, and £2,457 for electricity.
These totals are close to the figures of the same period in the university’s 2023/24 financial year, where the university spent £4,580 on council tax and £2,850 on gas. An error by their electricity supplier resulted in inaccurate expenditure in this period, so has not been reported.
Sir Peter lives in a New Town mansion estimated to be worth over £2 million after the property was gifted to the university in 2015.
The university claims cuts of £140 million must be made, this is opposed by the UCU (Via UCU)
He also earns an annual income of £438,000, after receiving a pay increase of five per cent last year.
A University of Edinburgh spokesperson said: “In common with many other universities, accommodation for the University’s Principal and their immediate family is provided as part of the role.
“The Principal’s residence was a gift donated to the University in 2015. The residence is not used solely as a family home but also as a venue for hosting formal University events to meet with an array of guests, such as international partners and other supporters.
“These events help to enhance the University’s reputation, strengthen our partnerships and potential funding streams.”
Sophia Woodman, Edinburgh’s UCU secretary said: “UCU Edinburgh is on strike this week against drastic budget cuts impacting on staff, and more to come.
“We don’t see how the University can continue to provide quality education to students with drastic reductions in staff. Management does not appear to be listening—students may able to insist they do.
“Many first year undergraduates at Edinburgh have tutorials with Guaranteed Hours tutors.
“These staff, most of whom are PhD students or postdocs, are returning to work to find that their hours have been drastically reduced due to management’s year-long efforts to slash University budgets.
“It is a slap in the face to these staff, who may not have sufficient work to pay their rent and bills, that the University is covering all the living expenses of our VC, who is paid over £400,000.
“If budgets are tight, why doesn’t he bear any of the impact?”
Featured image via The University of Edinburgh.
