FOI_26-001 Redundancies and vacancies

Date of response: 03 February 2026

We have now considered your request of 06 January 2026 for the following information:

Question 1. What was the total number of compulsory and voluntary redundancies (not including the end of a Fixed Term Contract) in non-academic roles for the financial year 2024-2025? Using the attached spreadsheet, please separate the figures by job category (as defined by HESA), gender and stated protected characteristics (those aged 55+, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic staff, those with a declared disability, and those who identify as LGBTQI+).

Question 2. What is the projected total number of compulsory and voluntary redundancies (not including the end of a Fixed Term Contract) in non-academic roles for the financial year 2025-2026? Using the attached spreadsheet for this data, please separate the figures by job category (as defined by HESA).

Question 3. What number of non-academic job roles are currently vacant but not actively being recruited to?

Question 4. What is the number of undergraduate and postgraduate courses that have closed since 1 January 2020?

Question 5. What is the number of undergraduate and postgraduate courses that have opened since 1 January 2020?

Question 6. What is the predicted total expenditure for 2026/2027 minus the total expected income from all sources for 2026/27?

Question 7. Since September 2023, what is the number of roles that have been lost in careers services, separating the figures into roles lost through redundancy and those lost through not recruiting to vacant posts.

We would appreciate it if you could complete this FOI request using the form attached, which is currently in Excel format. If you need this form in a different format, let us know as soon as possible.

Our response:

As requested, please see accompanying document, our ref: FOI_26-001 Appendix A.

s.43(2), Prejudice to commercial interests exemption explanation:

On this occasion, it is not possible to provide all the requested information. The Act contains a number of exemptions that allow public authorities to withhold certain information from release. We have applied the following exemption to part of your request.

We have applied this exemption to the predicted total expenditure for 2026-27 minus the total expected income from all sources for 2026-27.

It is our belief that release of this information would prejudice the commercial interests of the University of East Anglia (the University).

Regarding the requested information for predicted expenditure minus predicted income, the University, in common with other universities, undertakes various commercial activities, including student recruitment. This is a vital activity that directly affects our ability to compete within the sector. Income, including that from recruitment activities is regarded as a key indicator of our recruitment strategy and future financial health.

To compete in the Higher Education market, with leading UK and international universities, the University must ensure that information that would be strategically useful to its competitors is not placed in the public domain. Release of such information would potentially compromise the University’s ability to undertake commercial or financial activity and ultimately to recruit future student cohorts.

The University’s position would be compromised if it were to release information that would benefit its competitors, such as predicted total surplus income, or that which may compromise our reputation. This information, if disclosed publicly could also affect the University’s ability to successfully recruit students; the recruitment of future student cohorts is undoubtedly a commercial activity which is crucial to the sustainability of the University.

The UK Higher Education sector is a highly competitive environment. Regulatory changes in recent years have further increased competition between institutions. Universities all seek to recruit the best students from a limited pool of prospective UK and international applicants, as well as competing to attract high quality staff, research funding and accreditation.

There is a linkage between expected income and expenditure and our ability to attract the desired number and quality of students, as well as staff to support student learning in all its forms. In a very crowded and competitive commercial environment, should the expected ‘profit’ be made available, other institutions will be able adjust their recruitment strategy to match or exceed our activity and thereby impair our ability to recruit quality students.

We believe it is likely that such prejudice to our interests would occur, given the consistent treatment of the information as commercially sensitive, by not only the University but other Higher Education institutions, and the degree to which the number and nature of applicants recruited is now critical to any university’s success.

Public Interest Test

The application of this exemption requires an examination of the public interest in disclosure as opposed to that in non-disclosure.

The factors in favour of disclosure would include:

• There is no doubt that there is a legitimate public interest in knowing the details of predicted total expenditure minus predicted total income to further the transparency and accountability of public authority activities.

Factors in favour of withholding the information are largely laid out in the explanation for the use of the exemption above but would include:

• There is a public interest in protecting the ability of institutions to compete on a level playing field.

• To disclose the requested information would be likely to prejudice this institution’s competitive and commercial position, and it is difficult to see how this could be in the public interest.

On balance, we therefore believe the public interest lies in withholding the requested information.