£62 Million for a University Bailout - But 1,700 Children Stay in Poverty

This week, the Scottish Government quietly approved a £40 million emergency bailout to Dundee University - on top of the £22 million already handed out earlier this year.

That’s £62 million of public money - spent not on health, education, or housing, but to prop up a single institution.

To put it in perspective: £62 million is enough to lift 1,700 children out of poverty in Scotland - forever.

Is Dundee University now sustainable? Or is this just life support - a temporary patch that leaves the real issues unresolved? We shouldn't be surprised if another £62 million quietly follows when public attention moves on. The Lid Files will be watching.

And the bigger question: how many failing public institutions will we keep bailing out - without public scrutiny, without accountability? Is this sound financial stewardship? Or is it throwing good money after bad?

There’s a dangerous assumption in parts of the public sector: that no matter how poorly an institution performs, it will never be allowed to fail. That it’s “too big” or “too important” to fold.

But the truth is - every pound used to plug institutional black holes is a pound not used to feed children, fund classrooms, or support frontline services.

That’s why The Lid Files exists.

To ask the hard questions. To expose the waste. And to demand that public money works for the public - not just for the insiders.

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