The SNP’s Higher and Further Education Minister has blamed £46m of cuts to colleges and universities on the “appalling mismanagement” of the UK budget by the Tory Government.

The Scottish Government was accused of a “total betrayal” after the funding was cut from the colleges and universities budget for 2023/24.

The move has led to the City of Glasgow College proposing to make 75 staff redundant.

Principal and CEO of City of Glasgow College, Paul Little, said the move by the Scottish Government “further compounds significant financial pressures from real-term funding cuts, rising inflation, spiraling energy costs, and increased staff costs”.

Read more: Scottish Government claws back £46m budget uplift for education

He added that the college has been “forced to address a funding shortfall of £6million next year and, regrettably, has exhausted all other possibilities except the last resort of proposing 75 compulsory redundancies, subject to consultation with our staff and trade unions”.

He said: “Emerging from the pandemic, Scotland’s public finances are under significant pressure.

“Colleges have always been resilient and adaptive tertiary institutions and will adjust to this new reality.

“I fully understand that this will be a very concerning period for those in the college, and the wellbeing of our students and staff is a priority, so we will be providing extra levels of support and assistance to those directly affected and minimising the impact on learning and support for our students, who are some of the most marginalised in society.”

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Graeme Dey, the Scottish Government’s higher and further education minister, blamed the cut on the “appalling mismanagement of the UK economy by the Tories”.

Speaking at Holyrood, he said: “We currently face the most difficult public spending environment since devolution.

Read more: University of Glasgow exceeding Scot Gov deprivation target

“We have been clear the government will have to make difficult choices to address new pressures in the education and skills portfolio since the 2023/24 budget.

“The £46m funding was not part of the core allocation for colleges and universities.

“This funding was intended to enable strategic change in the sectors, additional funding for which will be reconsidered if and when the government’s financial position allows.”

Mr Dey added: “I understand that this is disappointing news for colleges and universities and it has added to the challenges that they face.

“We are therefore engaging with the Scottish Funding Council as well as the colleges and universities sectors to ensure that institutions can achieve financial stability.”

But Tory MSP Stephen Kerr warned that “this is the last thing that this country needs right now”.

He suggested that Mr Dey has had a “personality transplant”, warning that “one of his first acts on his return as a minister is to put the equivalent of a dagger in the heart of Scotland’s higher and further education”.

Mr Kerr added: “How can Scotland’s colleges and universities expect to plan for the long-term, and fulfill the vital function that is in their power to deliver for our country when they are faced with this total betrayal?”