Dundee University is set to axe its highly acclaimed forensic science research hub, with 24 jobs put at risk.
The Courier can reveal bosses told staff at the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science (LRCFS) their roles were under threat as the crisis-hit university looks to close it down within 16 months.
It is feared all jobs at the centre will be lost due to the decision, including those funded by the research project and those directly by the institution facing a £30m budget shortfall.
Staff have reacted angrily to the news shared with them by Professor Niamh Nic Daeid – director of LRCFS – on Thursday.
Staff hailed as heroes day before being put at risk of redundancy
The previous day the university had published a press release hailing Prof Nic Daeid and the centre’s staff as “heroes” for their work.
It is understood the university has been asked to pause the redundancy process until they publish their recovery plan so that potential job losses can form part of any voluntary redundancy scheme.
The LRCFS is the largest in the UK dedicated to improving the quality of the science behind evidence presented in court.
Its research work includes using cutting-edge technology to detect illicit drugs, explosives and bodily fluids at crime scenes.
It has also undertaken work in the Scottish Prison Service analysing seized drugs, with the team identifying a rise in steroids.
The centre was also part of a bid to introduce a drug checking service into the city.
It would have allowed people to submit illicit drugs to have them checked for the presence of deadly compounds like super-strength synthetic opioids.
Grant funding ‘coming to an end’
A Dundee University spokesman said: “The Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science is funded by a ten-year grant from the Leverhulme Trust, which runs until July 2026.
“As the external funding is coming to an end, we have entered into collective consultation with staff in the centre at an early stage.
“This is normal process when we are approaching the end of a large externally funded project.”
North East Labour MSP Michael Marra – deputy director of the centre before entering parliament – was stunned by the news.
He said: “This is a world leading research group which I was proud to help lead prior to my election in 2021.
MSP ‘not clear process is legally sound’
“It is not yet clear to me whether these moves are even legally sound.
“Some of the staff are not paid for from grant funding. They have central university funding and are afforded the full protections of their terms and conditions.
“These decisions must be treated at the same time as the forthcoming scheme that deals with the crisis that the leadership of the university have caused, and which must gain the broader support of the university community.
“I have told the acting principal [Shane O’Neill] that no two-tier process is tolerable or justifiable.
“I have spent weeks working towards and arguing for government support and believe that I have been successful in opening the door to that.
“But public money must and will come with conditions of fair treatment that are beyond any legal minimum.
“The general staff of the university did not cause this crisis.
“Management should remember that in everything they do.”
A rescue package for the university is expected to be revealed later this month.
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