PLANS to slash £6m from government grants to Hampshire universities have been condemned as a “Christmas kick in the teeth” by union leaders.

Vice-Chancellors have been ordered to impose a pay freeze and share services with other universities to achieve six per cent “efficiency gains” from next April.

Universities Minister David Willetts has written to the body that sets funding for higher education institutions saying “comparable efficiencies” must be found to those experienced elsewhere in the public sector as the austerity cuts kick in.

The move has been criticised by Universities UK, the vice chancellors’ umbrella body, which said it actually amounts to eight per cent in real terms.

Universities UK president Steve Smith said: “Rather than spending the next 18 months thinking about how we’re going to prepare for a very different world, we’re now going to have to spend time dealing with an eight per cent cut.”

And ministers admitted a much steeper cut to teaching grants from 2012 – when tuition fees are radically increased – had been decided on the assumption students will pay on average £7,500 per year.

That comes despite David Cameron’s repeated assurances universities would only be allowed to charge above £6,000 “in exceptional circumstances”.

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) will make a statement on its priorities next month, but will not announce specific allocations until March.

A six per cent cut would slash £3.4m from the University of Southampton’s teaching grants, while Southampton Solent University would lose £2.1m and the University of Winchester £677,000.

But with the government making subjects like science, medicine, engineering and maths its top priorities, institutions that specialise in arts-based and social science subjects are likely to fare worse.

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, said: “The coalition has delivered a real Christmas kick in the teeth, by announcing these cuts to funding and student places and attacks on pay and conditions.”

Capital funding for new university buildings has also been slashed by more than half, from £207m to £95m, along with a steep cut for the Science and Technology Funding Council.

In his letter to HEFCE, Mr Willetts said universities were “well able to handle” the cuts and it was a “very solid cash settlement”.

A spokeswoman for the University of Winchester said: “The university recognises the scale of the challenges ahead and is well-placed with a strong track record, a distinctive ethos and specialist reputation to compete in the market and ensure its future.”

Professor Don Nutbeam, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton, said: "Any reduction in public funding of research is regrettable and not in the interests of economic recovery.

"The University of Southampton has an outstanding track record of translating research into economic benefit, working in collaboration with industry.

"The university will continue to maintain its international research competitiveness by attracting new funding for research through partnerships with business, such as the £116m agreement with Lloyds Register for a new engineering centre of excellence announced earlier this week."