Askham Bryan College in York has reported losses of £1.5 million in its financial statement for the year to 31st July, 2018. The college took on a short term overdraft of £600k and had forecasted a £1.4 million income reduction in grants in 2019/20. Tim Walker, Acting CEO and Principal cited high investment in the college estate had resulted in limited cash reserves and unveiled that a ‘recovery plan’ was now in place to address its ‘deteriorating financial position’ and secure a sustainable and stable future for the college.
The recovery strategy includes a proposal to sell off some of the unused estate land as well implement £1 million of cuts across the curriculum and support departments. When pressed, Mr Whitaker acknowledged that these would come, in part, from staff redundancies. Despite the bleak outlook, he stressed that although there was an overall financial deficit, the college had made a surplus of £1.3 million when “depreciation, debt repayment and interest costs were removed” and said that the college was now in a much improved financial position which would allow it to thrive.
He continued, “We have already made significant improvements to our financial position through planned savings and generating more income, for example through closing our Newcastle centre, and an increase in student numbers, particularly for our short courses. As with all businesses, our staffing numbers need to suit changing needs. This does mean that on occasion some redundant whereas we have recruited additional staff in other areas. Despite well-publicised government reductions in funding, which have hit everyone in the further education sector hard, the college was recently (2019) inspected by Ofsted and graded outstanding across all areas for its residential provision. These are challenging times and we have made strategic decisions to make savings and realise underused assets.”
He said the college was now enjoying "one of the most exciting periods" in its history.
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