Diverse academia
Jason Arday was heralded as Cambridge’s youngest-ever black professor when appointed professor of sociology of education in 2023. How many ethnic-minority staff are there at UK universities?
– In 2024/25 there were 244,755 academic staff working in British universities. Of these, 26% were recorded as being of ethnic minority. In the same year, 16% of the UK population identified as ethnic minority.
– Of 23,900 professors, 14% were ethnic minority.
– Between 2023/24 and 2024/25 the number of professors of ethnic minority increased by 4%, while the number of professors who are white rose by 1%.
– While HESA statistics subdivide ethnic minorities into ‘black’ and other groups, they are only listed in bands to the closest five. This gives a total of 270 black professors, although the real total could be higher or lower than this.
Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency
Water, water, everywhere
How much water is lost to leakage? In 2024/25 some 19% of water leaked before reaching the consumer. The worst companies for leakage were:
Thames Water 22.5%
United Utilities 22.2%
Wessex Water 20.7%
Yorkshire Water 20.4%
And the best were…
Bristol Water 13.4%
Cambridge Water 12.7%
SES Water 12.7%
Essex & Suffolk Water 11.8%
Source: Environment Agency
Ceuta survey
Who lives in Ceuta?
– In 2025, the population of the Spanish enclave was 83,567, of whom 94% were Spanish citizens and 68% were born in Ceuta itself.
– Approximately 60% spoke Spanish as their first language and 40% Arabic.
– 51% were Christian and 48% Muslim.
– In 2024, 2,881 migrated there and 2,664 emigrated, giving net migration of 217.
Gas meter
How expensive is petrol in Britain?
– In June UK motorists paid an average of 155.6 pence per litre. The most expensive petrol in Europe was (in pence):
Denmark 206.7
Netherlands 193.2
Finland 191.3
The cheapest countries were…
Malta 115.8
Poland 121.6
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