THE Universities of Liverpool and Lancaster have held behind closed doors talks on “closer collaboration”.

Both academic institutions are considering a joint strategic planning group amid swingeing government funding cuts.

Last night university officials insisted the talks were merely designed to “explore the benefits of closer collaboration” and dismissed any suggestion of a merger as “simply not true”.

But concerned union leaders are demanding the universities are transparent and open.

They want guarantees that any formal partnerships do not lead to compulsory redundancies among around 14,000 staff employed at the two universities.

This is amid union fears that services like admissions, conference bookings and student support were all on the universities’ radar as possible joint projects.

Unite’s National Officer for Education, Mike Robinson told the Daily Post that although the distance between the two institutions would make it unfeasible for a full merger there was a worry that students could even attend certain lectures at either of the two universities.

He said: ‘Unite is concerned that services could be merged with the potential for job losses.

“We call on the senior management of both Liverpool and Lancaster universities to make clear any closer co-operation will not result in compulsory job losses.”