A SCUNTHORPE College will receive a three per cent cut in funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) next year.

In 2011/12 the total recurrent grant donated to the college will be £2,132 million which is a 3.1 per cent reduction on last year.

HEFCE will distribute £6,507 million to 130 universities and higher education colleges, and 124 directly funded further education colleges, for the academic year 2011-12.

Sir Alan Langlands, chief executive of HEFCE, said: “This is a challenging settlement for universities and colleges.

“In distributing the grant we have tried as far as possible to ensure a smooth transition to the new funding arrangements for higher education in 2012, when more public funding will be in the hands of students and less routed through HEFCE grants.

“The impact of the grant allocations affects universities and colleges differently, and virtually all see cash reductions.

“The withdrawal of the University Modernisation Fund and one-off funding in 2010-11 for moderation has led to significant reductions in some cases.

“We will continue to work with institutions as they adjust their activities to meet the growing financial pressures.”

A spokesman for North Lindsey College said: “Until the principal has had further time to assess the impact on the college, he has no comment to make.”