Latest UK news

Staff take action to protest pay offer
Academics and university support staff from five trade unions are taking part in a national day of action against the latest pay offer from vice-chancellors. Members of Natfhe, the lecturers’ union, are withholding student marks and boycotting exam boards.

UCL benefits most from £125m of grants 
Grants worth £125 million were announced by the Joint Infrastructure Fund today. The awards went to 16 universities to fund 28 projects - nine of them at University College London. Projects include a centre for biological research at Manchester University and the development of instruments for observational cosmology at Cardiff.

Nottingham accused of taking 'tainted' funds
Cancer research charities have accused Nottingham University of accepting "tainted" funding worth nearly £4 million from British American Tobacco. The money will fund a professorial chair and directorship, a visiting professorship and scholarships for an international centre for corporate social responsibility. Vice-chancellor Sir Colin Campbell said BAT had a "genuine commitment" to higher education.

Illiterate job-seekers may be asked to learn 2Rs
Claimants of the Jobseeker’s Allowance may have to learn to read and write in future. David Blunkett is seeking views on this in his drive to help seven million adults who are functionally illiterate. He has £400 million to spend on improving basic skills for adults.