§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) if he will list in rank order the salaries of the vice-chancellors of United Kingdom universities indicating for each institution the number of students enrolled; [1443]
(2) what assessment he has made of the advantages and disadvantages of setting a salary scale for university vice-chancellors; [1470]
123W(3) what factors underlie the range of variation in the salary and benefits packages offered to vice-chancellors by United Kingdom universities. [1469]
§ Dr. HowellsUniversities are independent bodies and it is for them to determine levels of pay for their staff, including the vice-chancellor, in the light of their own particular needs and requirements. Other than requiring that universities take account of the Government priorities for public sector pay, the Department plays no part in considering or setting academic salary scales and does not collect information about the salaries of vice-chancellors.
The Higher Education Funding Councils for England, Scotland and Wales and the Department of Education for Northern Ireland require universities to disclose the salary levels of senior staff. This information is published in the annual accounts of individual universities. Information on student enrolment is published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) in its reference volume series: Students in Higher Education Institutions.