Top civil servant: £40m a year needed for 10k Magee students and extra Coleraine places from 2032

Ian Snowden, Permanent Secretary at the Department for the Economy, provided the estimate at Stormont.

SDLP MLA Sineád McLaughlin asked about Magee as Mr. Snowden briefed the Stormont Economy committee on the straightened budgetary position facing his department.

The Magee Taskforce, in their final report on expanding Magee, indicated there would be a requirement to increase recurrent funding for student places in Derry from £2.5m in 2024/25 to £35.4m by 2032/33.

Mr. Snowden was asked by Ms. McLaughlin if this would require an additional allocation to DfE from the Executive or if there is ‘some other way that this project is going to be funded’.

He replied: “There is another way though to date it is not one that has been politically acceptable and that is to increase student fees and that will substantially increase the amount of money that is available to the Higher Education sector. So that could be done.

"I think, speaking quite broadly about this, in order to increase the provision at Magee to 10,000 students and maintain it – in fact, they have aspiration also to grow at Coleraine – we probably need an additional £40m a year into the HE system to achieve that.

“That can only be done either by an additional allocation from the Executive to this department or by increasing student fees. Those are the two options that are available.”

Mrs. McLaughlin asked if he would say the ‘project is in jeopardy’.

“Either student fees are increased or the department receives an additional allocation of £40m in resource expenditure per year in order to allow that to take place by the time we get to the expenditure,” he replied.

The SDLP MLA argued the investment the Executive and Minister for the Economy have made to Magee is ‘actually very, very small compared with the investment the government made in relocating the campus from Jordanstown into Belfast’.

"So how are you weighing up the expenditure - which has been minimal to date vis-à-vis what has been spent on other campuses - how are you weighing up economically the case for the expansion of Magee versus the investment in it?” she asked.

Mr. Snowden responded: “The expansion of the Belfast campus was largely funded through Financial Transaction Capital - so it is a loan not a grant – and the university, one of their financial requirements is to continue to repay that loan each year and they have to hold a certain amount of money in reserve against that.”

Mrs. McLaughlin put it to him that money did come from the Executive for the York Street project to which he replied ‘some did yes’.

Mr. Snowden also pointed to recent expenditure at Magee.

“To date we have spent, I think it is in the region of £15m, in purchasing sites to allow the expansion of the teaching accommodation which will be sufficient to allow us to grow - along with the Shared Island-funded building on the campus - will be sufficient to allow the teaching accommodation to accept almost 10,000 students. So there is quite a lot of investment that is going into the campus.”

Speaking after the meeting, Mrs. McLaughlin said: “The current situation at Magee is deeply concerning and more serious than many people had understood. I recognise that the financial position facing the Executive is difficult, but it is alarming to hear student fees once again being suggested as a way to deal with the funding crisis in higher education and to support the expansion of Magee."

She said the SDLP will oppose any attempt to increase student fees.

“We have repeatedly been told that the expansion of Magee is a priority for the Economy Minister and a key part of tackling regional imbalance.

"The growth in student numbers in recent years is welcome and shows what can be achieved, but that progress cannot be used to hide the reality that there is still a very significant funding gap.

“In 2024-25 the Department spent £11.8 million on the Derry campus, which is more than was spent in the previous four years combined. While that investment is positive, it is a long way from the estimated £400 million required to fully deliver the expansion to 10,000 students.

"The scale of that gap raises serious questions about whether the level of ambition across the Executive matches the commitments that have been made,” she stated.

She pointed to the tight budgetary circumstances outlined by civil servants at DfE on Tuesday.

"As the Permanent Secretary has set out, the Department will have £50 million less to spend on capital projects than it has today, which represents a real terms cut of almost 60 per cent.. That makes it even harder to see how this project will be delivered unless the Executive steps up with the funding required.

“The expansion of Magee is not just about buildings or student numbers. It is about giving young people in Derry and the wider North West the chance to study close to home. It is about training the next generation of doctors, nurses and skilled workers. It is about creating a region that is equipped to grow, attract investment and provide opportunity.

“If this project stalls because the necessary funding is not secured, the consequences will be felt for decades. The Executive must show the ambition needed to deliver Magee at scale and deliver it in full – we have already waited too long,” she remarked.