THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT has been called upon to maintain investment in higher education, after it was revealed universities in England could face cuts of up to £4.2 billion in the forthcoming UK government spending review.

A leaked email from Universities UK President Professor Steve Smith to vice-chancellors claimed the Browne Report – published last week – set out figures that "have been getting worse and worse," and could mean £3.2 billion being cut from teaching funding, and a further £1 billion from research funds.

Scottish principles have urged the Scottish Government to combat any knock-on effect in Scotland, or they risk "irreversibly damage of one of Scotland’s leading assets."

Sally Hunt, the general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU), said, "It is hard to believe that any government could contemplate making £4.2bn cuts to higher education given that it generates massive economic growth. Cuts of this magnitude will leave many cities and towns without a local university and our students paying the highest public fees in the world."

Aaron Porter, NUS president, told the press that the figures in Professor Smith’s letter reveal the ‘devastating scale’ of the cuts to be announced in the spending review.

He said: "The true agenda of the coalition government this week is to strip away all public support for arts, humanities and social science provision in universities and to pass on the costs directly to students’ bank accounts."

There have been suggestions the Scottish government may look to use the Scottish parliament’s power to raise the basic rate of income tax by up to three pence to plug the funding gap, utilising the so-called ‘tartan-tax’ – one of the few tax powers the Scottish parliament has.

A spokesman for the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills dismissed figures in Professor Smith’s email as speculation. He said: "Lord Browne made recommendations to government this week on a new funding system. His proposals are for graduates to make a greater contribution to the cost of their education, linked to their ability to pay."

"These recommendations are currently under consideration and are informing our comprehensive spending review negotiations with the Treasury. Ensuring the university sector is properly funded remains a key objective for the government," he added.