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Interim relief applications are on the rise at a staggering rate according to the Presidents of the Employment Tribunals for England & Wales, and Scotland, putting pressure on unwary employers.

In Part 1, What Happens If a UK University Fails?, Richard Obank explored why mounting financial pressures mean university failure can no longer be dismissed as a theoretical risk. In Part 2, University Insolvency: Why Existing Restructuring Tools Are Not Enough, he examined the gaps in the current legal framework and considered whether the further education sector offers a potential model for reform. The final instalment considers the case for and against a special administration regime for higher education institutions. It then looks beyond conventional insolvency law to the graduated intervention model used in the NHS and the supplier-of-last-resort mechanism used in the energy sector, before setting out the case for an early-warning framework, regulatory intervention and a credible last-resort process.