England’s universities regulator has been attacked for being “asleep at the wheel” over its delays in investigating suspected fraud, bullying and mismanagement at the University of Greater Manchester.
Phil Brickell, the MP for Bolton West whose constituency adjoins the campus, has accused the Office for Students (OfS) of failing to act on whistleblowers’ reports and media investigations for almost a year.
Brickell told the Guardian that the OfS’s lack of action had left the university’s staff and approximately 11,000 students confused and uncertain about their future, making him question the OfS’s competence.
“Given the university is an anchor institution for the borough, I’m gravely concerned that the glacial speed at which the OfS is moving has caused significant harm – not just for the staff and students but [also] for the wider town,” Brickell said.
“Current students, staff and alumni have repeatedly contacted me with concerns around poor governance. A lack of transparency and haste from the OfS undermines confidence in its ability to adequately regulate the universities sector during a difficult period.”
In a furious letter to Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, Brickell detailed the “significant delay” by the OfS in announcing its formal investigation, months after an extensive investigation by the Manchester Mill news site began in February and inquiries were opened by Greater Manchester police (GMP).
Brickell told Phillipson: “This will have compounded the concerns of the many whistleblowers who have contacted me over the past 10 months. In addition, some individuals who have contacted me say they also raised their concerns directly with the OfS long before the first Mill article was published.”
A spokesperson for the OfS said the regulator declined to comment. The University of Greater Manchester was known as the University of Bolton until the OfS approved its name change in 2024.
After the Manchester Mill’s first reports, parliament was told in March that the OfS and police were investigating. But while GMP said in May they were looking into “financial irregularities” at the university, and revealed in June that detectives from the major incident team had searched properties in Greater Manchester and the south of England to investigate “suspected fraud and bribery”, the OfS did not announce its own investigation until this month and has made no public comment.
The university’s governing body commissioned an inquiry by PricewaterhouseCoopers in spring, and in May it suspended Prof George Holmes, the university’s vice-chancellor of 20 years, along with two senior members of staff. A spokesperson at the time said: “These suspensions are a precautionary measure and do not imply any assumption of guilt.”
Brickell said he first raised his concerns with the OfS in March and had had little response since then.
“That the OfS only announced its investigation more than six months after the police suggests a universities regulator asleep at the wheel. That’s why I’ve taken the steps of writing to the OfS and the education secretary, asking for an explanation for the delay and highlighting my concerns that the regulator isn’t across its brief,” Brickell said.
“I’m completely in the dark as to what the OfS are up to, and expect most staff and students are also none the wiser. The OfS needs to be proactive in reassuring the university community it is doing all it can to address concerns and ensure detriment to student outcomes is minimised.”
The Manchester Mill’s reporting uncovered an array of allegations including racism and bullying as well as large-scale financial ties to external contractors and companies. The investigation was a winner at this year’s British Journalism Awards.
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