The Facts
On Friday 20th March the
University of Bolton (UoB)
The rest of the text on this page has been deleted for legal reasons
So why has this been
allowed to happen?
The Numbers
On March
5th 2015 Times Higher
Education reported on financial activities that many at the University thought
questionable. Tax payers have a right to know how public money is being spent.
Regardless of any embarrassment and inconvenience it might cause the vice-chancellor,
it is absolutely right that he should be answerable to the public, which funds
the institution that pays his extremely generous salary. Embarrassment is only
ever the result of poor judgement. If there has been no poor judgement then
there should be nothing to hide from public view.
The £100,000 away days
 |
| Lakeland Hotel, Windermere |
The University Bolton spent £100,000
on away days for all 700 university staff at the £220 per night Lakeside Hotel
in Windermere, 70 miles from Bolton. Over the course of twenty meetings vice-chancellor
George Holmes presented the University’s strategic plan to staff. The vice-chancellor moors his yacht
at a marina on the lake. Staff meanwhile have suffered a pay freeze.
The £960,000 loan
 |
| George Holmes' house stands in 4 acres of land |
The University of Bolton loaned to vice-chancellor George Holmes £960,000
to help him buy “a luxurious Edwardian house.” This had been reported
previously by the Daily Mail on
February 2015. In 2103 it was revealed
that UoB was the only higher education institution not to award staff a 1 per
cent pay rise. Students meanwhile are being
asked to pay £9,000 in tuition fees.
The
£47,000 bonus
 |
| George Holmes with his Rolls. |
The
Daily Mail article also made reference to the £47,200 which vice-chancellor George Holmes received two years
earlier to “incentivise” him to remain in his £199,000-a-year post. All this
information is in the public domain, as such financial dealings concerning
publicly funded institutions must be.
 |
| Artist's impression of proposed Cheadle Sq development |
These are vast sums of money. It is little surprise there is public
concern about the way it is being used, especially
when the UoB is a central player in the hugely unpopular proposals to build
student accommodation on Cheadle Square. According to the Bolton News, Bolton Civic
Trust has “campaigned against proposals
by the council and the University of Bolton to build a £43 million student village.....it will destroy the
view and clear space running from Le Mans Crescent towards Moor Lane and
Queen’s Park.” Regardless of aesthetics £43 million is a lot of money. The
public have a right to be concerned and a right to transparency.
Déjà Vu? What the Papers Say
The pay of George Holmes, vice-chancellor of the University of Bolton,
climbed by 25 per cent to £229,800 (or £256,200 when employer pension contributions
are included) after he was awarded a one-off retention bonus of £42,700. That
payment was made by the university’s remuneration committee to “incentivise the
vice-chancellor to remain at Bolton to secure stable leadership during a time
of change”, a spokesman for the institution says.
The bonus was issued shortly before Bolton announced plans in November
to save £5 million a year after a 25 per cent drop in its student intake
compared with 2011-12 levels. At that time, the university said that about 92
employees could be made redundant, although last week a spokesman stated that
the restructuring process had concluded “with only seven compulsory
redundancies”.
Source:Times Higher Education March 2013
THE vice
chancellor of the University of Bolton spent close to £9,000 on
hotel accommodation last year — and forked out a similar amount on air fares. A union
report has revealed that George Holmes' hotel bill for the year was the seventh
highest of all the respondents. The
university said that the money was spent while Mr Holmes was “conducting the
business of the university” — a role which involves national and international
travel.
Source: Bolton News March 2015
A LECTURER has been
sacked from his job at Doncaster College for the second time in three months.
Richard
Browning, a former photography lecturer, was dismissed earlier this year after
college managers said he was guilty of gross misconduct....
But an
appeals committee, made up of five college governors, last week found that the
incident and a list of minor allegations were not grounds to sack Mr Browning.
They ruled
instead that a final written warning should be issued.
But directly
after the hearing this week Mr Browning was given a letter from principal Dr
George Holmes dismissing him again.
Deputy
principal Stephen Clough said: "In the course of the investigation during
Mr Browning's suspension, several other serious matters came to light.
"As a
result Dr Holmes exercised his right to summarily dismiss Mr Browning."
No details
of the new allegations have been released but Russ Escrit, regional
representative for lecturers' union NATFHE, said Mr Browning was seeking legal
advice.
Source: Doncaster Free Press March 2003
Deborah Wain, a news and feature writer on the Doncaster Free Press, won the Paul Foot Award 2007, a national honour that recognises campaigning journalism.
 |
| Deborah at the award ceremony with Ian Hislop, left. |
Deborah's picked up the award for exposing the failing of the biggest education project in the country, the 100m Doncaster Education City project, against competition from hundreds of national and regional titles.
She shared first prize with The Guardian team who unearthed widespread corruption in the British arms trade in the BAE scandal that led to criminal investigations across three continents.
Largely forced to use Freedom of Information legislation because of a lack of a refusal by public authorities, ranging from Doncaster Council to the Learning and Skills Council, to release information about how vast amounts of public money was being spent, Deborah's investigation revealed that what had started out as a grandiose plan to transform education for Doncaster's teenagers with a network of community colleges around a central hub building had crumbled.
Doncaster was left with an impressive college building housing an educational establishment that failed its Ofsted inspection.
Along the way she uncovered:
* A 50 per cent pay hike - from £90,000 to £135,000 - for one of the architects of the scheme, the DEC chief executive Dr George Holmes. He left suddenly as questions were being asked about the project. He is now vice -chancellor of Bolton University.
* Almost £1m paid out in consultancy fees
* A private jet chartered at a cost to the public of £1,500 to take mayor Martin Winter to a meeting
* £22,000 spent on entertaining in two years
* £7,000 spent on first class air fares for a research trip to Australia
* £399 was spent on a personalised number plate for Dr Holmes' car.
Much of what happened was conducted at behind-closed doors meetings and very few councillors had any idea of how council taxpayers' cash - that they were responsible for - was being spent until they read the Free Press.
Deborah's investigation prompted an inquiry in the council's use of public money by the District Auditor.
Doncaster Council's response was led by Mr Winter who attacked the Free Press at a public meeting called the newspaper "a riff raff" newspaper.
Other newspapers shorlisted for the award, set up in memory of the Daily Mirror's former investigative journalist Paul Foot, included the Times Higher Education Supplement and the Yorkshire Post.
Deborah is shortlisted in two categories in the Yorkshire Press Awards, News Reporter of the Year and Feature Writer of the Year for weekly papers. She is a past winner and runner-up in the feature writer category.
Souce: Doncaster Free Press October 2007
Public
Institution or Personal Fiefdom?
 |
| University vehicle parked in disable space |
 |
| Vice-chancellor in a Ginetta racing car |
An unedifying culture
of arrogance seems to characterise the leadership of University of Bolton. Security
staff have been an intimidatory presence as signatures were gathered for
a petition. Joe Whittaker, a former lecturer at Bolton
University and long time disability campaigner was pushed to the ground by one
security worker, and later accused by the University of assaulting the same
security worker. The same arrogance and
disregard for others is in the sexism underpinning the presence of scantily
clothed dancers at the launch of the University sponsored Bolt racing car, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRGSaYw2eMw) and in the use
of a disabled parking spots by UoB vehicles. It’s a pattern of behaviour that
is bringing the institution into disrepute.
Freedom
of Information? Not at UoB.
The UoB is a registered charity. What does
the Charity Commission have to say? "It's a matter for the Higher Education Funding
Council of England."
What does HEFCE have to say? "It's entirely in the hands of the Board of Governors."
What does HEFCE have to say? "It's entirely in the hands of the Board of Governors."
Absolutely nothing. Chair
of Governors, former Bishop of Manchester Nigel McCullough is not responding to
the many letters addressed to him on these matters. He has written that he is
“leaving it to the University,” a bizarre position to adopt given central role
of the governors is to ensure correct and proper governance procedures are
followed. Letters addressed to him have been answered by the same unsigned,
proforma letter sent by UoB solicitors, Shoosmiths LLP. It’s clear that the
governors are not doing what their role demands of them. Whatever the reason,
it is unacceptable.
Published by the Campaign for an Ethical University of
Bolton, c/o 16 Wood St, Bolton, BL1 1DY
