Dr. Graham Love:

The higher education system has definitely been struggling. That is reflected in our standing in the rankings, although I feel obliged to say that those rankings come with their own problems in terms of what they measure, etc. Leaving that to one side, the system is under strain and has been struggling to deliver. This is evidenced by everything we have heard here today - retention rates, the retention of support for people from economically disadvantaged groups in institutions, research budgets and a 13% reduction in staff at a time when we have a 24% increase in demand, one going down while the other goes up. The system has responded very well to that kind of challenge but, very much akin to what we have heard about the health service in recent years, when there is a certain amount of cutting, we eventually go towards the bone. I think we know we are at this point. There is no denying that.