Dr. Hugh Brady:

All of those higher responsibility allowances have gone since 2009. Essentially, between 2006 and 2009, we entered into a discussion with the HEA and while it undoubtedly would have liked us to stop everything immediately, legal advice looks both ways. One is consent by acquiescence, but, more importantly, we were then faced with staff who had contractual agreement giving them allowances. That is where there might have been a difference in emphasis. The HEA would have liked us to bring down the hammer on all of them. We argued that we should take a more measured view of this and work through each of them. In certain cases, therefore, there were individuals who had a contractual allowance where they retired and we dealt with the roles, while we stopped others. In respect of the resolution mechanism, during that period we, with our students' union, submitted a proposal to the HEA whereby the disputed amount would be put aside for new student services, in other words, into student supports over and above what we currently invest in them. The resolution that has been suggested by the HEA is a slight tweak of that and we are happy with that and have indicated as such to the authority.