Outrage as universities miss out on talent fund

THE Government has been accused of undermining the North of England, after excluding every one of its universities from a £54m talent fund.

- DANIEL HOLLAND Local Democracy Reporter

Mayors, MPs and universities have been left outraged after the North was left out of a drive to recruit 60 to 80 of the world's leading researchers to the UK.

A total of 12 higher education institutions across the country will share in the Global Talent Fund, which Labour says will "fire up the UK economy" and "put rocket boosters" under its plans. While the likes of Oxford and Cambridge universities will benefit, none of the chosen 12 are from any part of the North.

Eight regional mayors, including the North East's Kim McGuinness, said in a joint statement that they were "deeply disappointed that universities in the north of England, some of the best and brightest in the world, have once again been overlooked in the allocation of national innovation funding, despite their research credentials".