Terms of engagement

Perusing the annual accounts of the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Diary can report a modest pay rise for Sir Howard Newby, its chief executive. In the year to March 31 2003, Sir Howard's basic salary rose 2.5 per cent to £123,000, which would place him joint-90th in The THES 's league table of vice-chancellors' pay. Sir Howard has yet to achieve his old salary as vice-chancellor of Southampton University, where he earned £132,000 in 2001.

In the report, Sir Howard thanks his colleagues, who include former employee and now fiancée Sheila Watt, saying they "have been tremendously supportive during a demanding year: they have been cheerful, resilient and unfailingly professional".