Projected savings as a direct result of the closure of Vaughan Centre for Lifelong Learning

The request was partially successful.

Robert Greenhill

Dear University of Leicester,

Please release figures for the projected savings the University of Leicester will make as a direct result of the closure of the Vaughan Centre for Lifelong Learning. This should include the fall in income from the loss of student fees and associated spending (e.g. in the David Wilson Library cafe during breaks, sales of books, hats, hoodies, etc) and a breakdown of precisely where these savings are likely to be made. Please supply these figures for the next three to five years, or failing that, as far ahead as any current projections allow.

Yours faithfully,

Robert Greenhill

Dear Mr Greenhill,

I write to acknowledge receipt of your request, dated 29th July 2016, made under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Please note the effective date of the request, i.e. date of receipt of your request by the University of Leicester for processing, is 29th July 2016 and that the latest date by which the University must respond under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is 30th August 2016.

I will arrange for the information to which you are entitled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to be supplied to you as soon as reasonably possible, and in any event within the period set out by the Act.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any queries regarding your request.
Regards,

Paul Starkey
Senior Information Assurance Officer

Information Assurance Services,
University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK

t: +44 (0)116 229 7945
e:  [email address]
w: www.le.ac.uk

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Dear IAS,

Just to remind you that your response to my FOI request ' Projected savings as a direct result of the closure of Vaughan Centre for Lifelong Learning' is due tomorrow, Tuesday 30 August 2016.

I look forward to reading it.

Yours sincerely,

Robert Greenhill

Dear Mr Greenhill,

I write on behalf of the University of Leicester in response to your request, dated 29th July, made under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Our response is as follows.

The loss of income and savings can be broken down into two parts.

Direct income and costs

In our regular reporting for all departments we show the income generated and the direct costs. Direct costs include the staff costs for staff in the department, any associate tutor costs and the direct non-pay controlled in the department. We do this so that the elements directly controlled within the department are very clearly reported.
We refer to the difference between direct income and direct costs as the contribution. For VCLL in 2014/15 the contribution was 18%. This was the lowest of any department in the University and compares to an average of over 50% across all departments.

Some of the courses previously run in VCLL have moved to other departments so the loss of income is expected to be £1.1 million. The savings over time if the centre is closed will result in Pay savings of £0.737 million and Non Pay savings of £0.265 million.

Full economic costs

The contribution does not show the full cost, surplus or deficit of operating the department as there are no charges for any of the central costs essential to the running of an academic department.

The reduction in central services information is not available. We would expect to see savings as a result of the closure - but we can't quantify these directly as each area is undergoing transformation and are at different stages in the process.

There are some aspects where we would make some direct savings if we decide to go ahead with the closure of VCLL. The estates costs, for example, would be saved by us using the buildings for another purpose which would save us the cost of purchasing or leasing additional space.

For many of the other costs there would be additional capacity to incorporate the support costs associated with growth in other activities.

We do not hold data on the associated spending requested by the student department and therefore cannot answer that part of the request.

If you have any concerns or wish to complain about any aspect of this response then in the first instance please contact the University's Data Protection Officer (Mr Henry Stuart: 0116 229 7945, [email address])

Please be aware that it is also your legal right under Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act, to apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision whether a request for information made to the University has been dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the Act. It should be noted that there is a requirement that there will be no undue delay in making the application and there is an expectation that the complainant will have exhausted the University's internal complaints procedure.

Complaints to the Information Commissioner should be addressed to:

FoI Compliance Team (Complaints)
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

I hope you find this response helpful. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any queries regarding the above.

Regards,

Paul Starkey
Senior Information Assurance Officer

Information Assurance Services,
University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK

t: +44 (0)116 229 7945
e:  [email address]
w: www.le.ac.uk

Follow us on Twitter or visit our Facebook page

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