Forth Valley College makes £2m cuts to balance books

However, bosses at the college said they have avoided the need to make compulsory redundancies amongst staff following a consultation process saw them achieve savings of £2 million.

They said the consultation followed news earlier this year that its funding allocation would be a flat cash settlement and a ten per cent reduction in credit allocation during the “already challenging financial climate”.

The college’s senior management said that coupled with inflation at over ten per cent, the continuing public sector pay negotiations and increased energy costs, they had no other option to make savings.

These include a relaunch of the college-wide voluntary severance scheme; the removal of some courses to mitigate the reduction in credits; and restructuring of a number of corporate services.

They also took the decision to only offer evening classes at the Falkirk and Stirling campuses on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They will no longer be offering evening classes at the Alloa campus due to low demand and increasing energy and operational costs.

FVC principal and chief executive Kenny MacInnes said: “Due to the challenging financial climate Forth Valley College took the difficult decision to launch a consultation exercise in May this year, to ensure the financial stability of the college. We were required to make savings of £2 million and we hoped that a reorganisation and a new voluntary severance scheme for staff, would prevent us from having to make compulsory redundancies from our academic and support staff workforce.

“I can confirm we have managed to do that, whilst at the same time trying to make sure that the impact on our students was as low as possible. Overall 109 students were directly affected by the changes in our reorganisation, but they were either offered direct alternatives, or referred to support and guidance to discuss options.

“As a result of the combination of some staff redeployment, the voluntary severance scheme, the reduction of some courses, the restructuring of evening class provision and the rationalisation of some corporate services, we are now able to look positively to the future on a stable financial foundation and continue making learning work for the people of Forth Valley and beyond.

“We understand that any change can be difficult, however it was vital for us to take these difficult measures, to support the security and long-term future of Forth Valley College.”