However, in a letter that I sent to the chair of the funding council, John McClelland, on 25 January 2008, setting out strategic guidance—I am allowed to do that under the legislation—I stated:"My priorities for the university sector are:- growth in undergraduate and taught post-graduate numbers (for excellence in the performing arts, including dance; Crichton; and rural healthcare)".I also provided for a 4.8 per cent increase in funding for the academy in 2008-09, which is greater than both the inflation rate and the 3.4 per cent increase in funding for the university sector as a whole.