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The rise, which came despite continued anxieties over the impact of the government’s visa regime on recruitment from outside the European Union, is revealed in income and expenditure figures for UK higher education institutions .

Total income for the UK sector was £30.7 billion in 2013-14, up from £29.1 billion the (a 5.5 per cent rise). Expenditure rose to £29.4 billion, up from £.9 billion the previous year (a 5.4 per cent rise).

The largest source of income was “total tuition fees and education contracts”, accounting for £13.7 billion or 44.5 per cent of total income in 2013-14. That was up 17.3 per cent from £11.7 billion, or 40 per cent of total income, the previous year as the transition to the fees-based system continued.

Within 2013-14 income, fees from non-EU students were £3.9 billion, or 12.7 per cent of total income. That was a rise on 2012-13, when non-EU fee income was £3.5 billion, or 12.1 per cent of total income.

The largest item of expenditure was academic staff costs, standing at £9 billion or 30.7 per cent of total expenditure. That was up from £8.5 billion, or 30.6 per cent of total expenditure, the previous year.

john.morgan@tesglobal.com