11 February 2026 
Amanda Darley, Head of Operations and Engagement
BUFDG
We launched the 2026 Audit Survey last week, and the request should have gone out to Deputy Finance Directors – if that’s you and you didn’t receive it, please contact Matt.
We’re sad to report that our recently recruited Events Manager, Dara Voice, has decided this isn’t the role for her and she leaves us today. Fellow recent recruit, Rich Twiddle, will be covering our events management for the time being, so contact Rich with any events queries.
SECTOR
UUK has launched the Future Universities national conversation about how universities can secure a brighter future for the next generation. The first part of the project focuses on graduate jobs and links with employers, and promises to confront “concerns about graduate employability”. This was launched alongside polling results from Public First showing that 74% of respondents agreed that UK universities are important to creating the country’s future economic success but that 70% agreed that universities could do more to help the country succeed.
With national apprenticeship week upon us this week, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced that the Government is looking to “put apprenticeships on a level footing with university degrees”, that it is piloting “a university clearance-style system where ‘near miss’ applicants … will be re-directed to similar opportunities”, and that a new online platform to bring all apprenticeship information together in one place will be launched. The DWP has also announced new fast-track apprenticeship reforms to speed up approval of updates to training or development of new short courses to as little as three months.
The Guardian reports that the merger between the Universities of Greenwich and Kent has received OfS and DfE approval, and the two parties have exchanged contracts. It will take effect from 1 August.
The Hickson review for UKRI on university-investor links has been published and “draws on extensive knowledge across the research and innovation ecosystem to offer recommendations to deepen university-investor links and UK economic growth”. Wonkhe’s James Coe likes it and explains why here.
Neil Smyth of Mills & Reeve has written a blog for Wonkhe examining the current understanding of the government’s intended approach to possible university insolvencies (in England at least). Despite more information being issued by the Minister for Skills in December, Neil still believes that a special administration regime for H E could achieve “so much more” than using compulsory liquidation/special manager arrangements, and that not creating such a regime is a “missed opportunity”.
The Guardian examines “what happens when a city loses its university" by looking at the closure of the University of Essex’s Southend campus after seventeen years, during which time the “city that has come to depend on the university in many ways” (the local MP estimates it’s worth more than £100m a year to Southend’s economy). The VC of the University at the time the campus opened describes that period as one when “there was a clear national vision for universities, and they were mostly publicly funded,” whereas “[n]ow you stand or fall on your student demand”. There's a big local connection here, with 52% of students training to work in health or social care being local - looking to future generations in the city, a local primary school teacher says “I want to cry. So many children have lost access to their potential futures”. With current students being given the option to complete their degrees at the main Essex campus 45 miles away in Colchester, not all can, leaving them with student debt but no degree. It’s a thought provoking read.
AUDE has released the latest Estates Management Report (for 2025) and focused on the cost of underutilised space, with Estates Directors estimating this to be anywhere between 10% and 40% of their estates. The report posits that while “[n]ot every university needs to shrink their footprint… the entire Higher Education sector as a whole does”.
The DfE has released statistics for 2023-24 participation measures in higher education, with Wonkhe’s DK highlighting some changes in how it’s all measured here.
Plan 2 student loans are continuing to receive attention with the IFS taking a deep dive into how Plan 2 student loans work, and how they have changed over time; the newly appointed (and first) Director of The Post-18 Project, John Blake (previous Director of Fair Access and Participation at the OfS) arguing that no matter how logical the arguments about the progressive nature of the repayments, Plan 2 feels “oppressive” and “incomprehensibly unfair”; and Wonkhe’s Jim Dickinson wondering if, given all this critical coverage of Plan 2 loans, “a progressive graduate contribution scheme would be a better bet than the psychology of debt”; Nick Hillman at HEPI continues to disagree, and looks back at previous higher education reviews to explain some of the reasons why.
Dr Brooke Storer-Church, CEO of GuildHE, argues in this THE article that judging a university by its graduates’ salaries is a case of the tail wagging the dog, though she concedes it is inevitable “and perfectly reasonable” that students being asked to bear a greater burden for the cost of study ask “what they’ll ‘get’ for the money”.
The growth in international applicants for MRes degrees as the number of international applicants for taught Postgraduate degrees falls is starting to catch people’s attention and is examined in Wonkhe here.
The DfE has released guidance on protecting H E providers from foreign interference, including looking at international collaborations and investments, which is picked up in much of the mainstream press, including the BBC, the Financial Times(£), the Independent, and the Telegraph(£). The DfE is also consulting with the sector.
The Committee for University Chairs (CUC) has published an interim communication on their review of the Higher Education Code for Governance.
Student complaints to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator increased 17% in 2025 compared to 2024, according to its annual Operating Report, published today.
The OfS has published results of research into students’ perceptions of changes made by universities in response to financial challenges. The results are based on a panel survey of around 1,200 students. One of the findings was that while 46% expressed concern about the potential closure of their course or department, nearly half were unaware of their options if this occurred. The report includes suggestions for what institutions should do in response.
FUNDING
The Ministry of Defence has announced £80 million of new investment to “boost UK skills for defence careers of the future”, which “[u]niversities, colleges and other higher education providers in England will be able to bid for funding to increase opportunities for students on defence related courses”. This will be split between £50 million for c.2,400 new student places over six years and £30 million investment in improving university facilities to increase capacity. The OfS was expected to open the funding opportunity on 10 Feb (closing on 20 March) but we’ve not seen it yet. Work is apparently “ongoing with devolved governments to assess specific skills needs and funding options across the rest of the UK”.
ENGLAND
The OfS is recruiting up to three more independent members for its Financial Sustainability Advisory Panel, a committee of the OfS Board (not open to employees of higher education providers or sector representative bodies), to join the existing board member and independent member on the panel.
SCOTLAND
Universities Scotland has published its manifesto for the 2026 Scottish elections, urging all parties to back universities as part of their election campaigns. It was launched alongside results from Public First’s polling for UUK (carried out in January), which shows that 75% of Scots agree or strongly agree that universities are key to the UK’s future economic success.
The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has published a Carbon Reduction Strategy, which sets out the SFC’s current emissions footprint and its action plan to reduce it.
The Education, Children and Young People Committee spent three hours hearing from union representatives from four of Scotland’s universities on 28 January, with many tales of the impact on staff of cuts across Scottish universities.
Former First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has urged “government and universities to ‘double down’ on soft power projection overseas”, highlighting the idea of a “a bespoke Scottish visa” to give Scotland “greater flexibility within the UK’s immigration framework”.
The IFS has published its analysis of the Scottish Budget for 2026-27.
WALES
Medr has published an analysis of demand, provision and distribution of subject areas across H E in Wales, carried out at the request of the Minister for Further and Higher Education. The report is a detailed picture of the current state of play rather than including policy suggestions. Wonkhe sums it up as describing an H E system that is “too concentrated geographically, too thin in subject breadth and too dependent on English demand” to properly serve Welsh students - only 39% of undergraduate enrolments being Welsh-domiciled students, with 51% from the rest of the UK, and 10% from overseas, and with a number of subjects not being provided in nearly enough capacity within Wales to meet the demand from Welsh-domiciled students.
Medr has published 2024-25 data for enrolments at Welsh higher education providers, showing a 5% drop in enrolments from 2023-24, compared to a 1% drop across the UK as a whole.
First Minister Eluned Morgan announced that the Welsh Government has “no intention of freezing the thresholds and following England” in relation to Plan2 student loan repayments. (Wales still uses Plan 2 for new students). Jim Dickinson at Wonkhe foresees that this might be “a huge pain for the Student Loans Company (SLC), who you’d have to assume are already at full pelt trying to implement the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) on time. See also the admin headache for HMRC”, and also wonders how Wales will afford this.
More guidance on the Visitor Levy in Wales has been issued, and Andrea has summarised it for you on the Tax Discussion Board here.
TAX AND PAYROLL
We’re running a Time to Talk on 19 March when Kerry and Harriet from Big For Tax will talk through how to mitigate VAT on the cost sharing arrangements. Book your free place here.
The recording from the session HMRC ran for BUFDG members last week on employment status in the H E sector is now available to watch here.
There’s a useful round-up and timeline on Wonkhe for the latest on the Employment Rights Bill. There is also a raft of new consultations on the Government’s Make Work Pay initiative, including one on bringing umbrella companies within the remit of agency legislation.
The February issue of TaxHE comes out tomorrow (12 February) – you can update your preferences here to have it delivered to your inbox, or you can find it here tomorrow afternoon.
PROCUREMENT
The submission deadline for the Procurement Value Survey (PVS) has been extended until close of business on Friday 13 February 2026.
Jisc have shared an interesting blog discussing software procurement across the sector, and outlining their partnership with UKUPC. John Shaile, Director of Procurement and Supplier Management at Jisc, outlines how last year, the licensing portfolio delivered over £500m in savings for the sector through collaboration. Read the blog here to find out more about how they can get involved through insights and data, as well as learn about the activities that will form the next steps for the work, aligned to the UUK Transformation and Efficiency Taskforce.
COUNTER FRAUD
HEPI has published an article on the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA) which considers how fraud risk has increased as the breadth and variety of universities' activities have grown with the need to diversify income streams etc. It provides some good examples of where fraud risk may lie for universities, with suggestions for reasonable procedures. It also links to a “more detailed analysis of the failure to prevent fraud offence, including its legislative background and broader application beyond higher education” in a separate article published in the Fraud Magazine.
And following feedback from members on the topic, we’re hosting a Time to Talk with Pinsent Masons covering Fraud Risk Assessments in the ECCTA era. This free session on 26 February is open to all members and will cover:
FINANCIAL REPORTING
On 10 February BUFDG convened a meeting on behalf of the Financial Reporting Group, bringing together regulators and key sector bodies across Further and Higher Education to discuss the impact and transition arrangements arising from the adoption of FEHE SORP 2026. A reminder that all SORP documents, including additional guidance related to the key changes and Model Financial Statements, are accessible via the SORP Knowledge Hub, alongside useful guides and webinars.
The next BUFDG SORP Implementation Forum will take place on 17 March, and feature implementation case studies including examples of templates for gathering information and project planning.
RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
It’s been quite the fortnight for research funding…
UKRI’s Chief Executive has written an open letter to regarding financial pressures, emphasising that though UKRI’s overall budget will rise across the 2026–2030 Spending Review period there will be difficult choices and reductions in some areas. UKRI also announced an increase to the minimum stipend levels for UKRI-funded postgraduate research students.
The Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE) has a useful summary of what is happening with the cuts to funding from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) here. Wonkhe’s James Coe has analysed UKRI’s funding changes here, including £162m of savings the STFC needs to make by 2029-3, and the funding opportunity ‘pauses’ at the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC). In “a difficult week for research” he also muses on UKRI’s communications, which UKRI Chief Executive, Ian Chapman, described as “not done … in the right way” recently at a hearing of the House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee last week.
Meanwhile, the Guardian reports that the UK “could lose a generation of scientists” as a result of the cuts, and points to an open letter originally signed by 500, mainly early-career, researchers to UKRI’s Professor Ian Chapman (and now signed by almost 1,000). The Guardian reports on UK researchers seeking posts overseas, and examples such as the UK having spent “hefty sums on overseas projects such as the groundbreaking Rubin Observatory in Chile, which will swing into action this year, but could have no UK astronomers to work on it”. While the open letter points out that although “the full impact of these losses may take several years to materialise, by the time they are visible they are no longer reversible … infrastructure, facilities, and large programmes can often be stabilised or re-expanded once funding conditions improve; early-career cohorts lost during a contraction cannot”. And The Times(£) covers the story here.
MillionPlus has published a blog challenging the idea that research funding should be concentrated into a small group of already research-intensive institutions, citing some of the excellent research being undertaken by its member institutions.
It’s all change for the Research Excellence Framework, following an announcement that Rebecca Fairburn will be stepping down as Director of REF 2029 in April. The next stages of the exercise will see former director Kim Hackett returning to provide strategic leadership, Catriona Firth from the People, Culture and Environment team leading programme delivery, and a recruitment process for Rebecca’s successor.
As announced in the last Digest, Innovate UK will be starting dedicated online drop-in sessions for BUFDG members who have general queries on claims, system issues, terms and conditions, etc. and will be hosted by members of the Horizon Guarantee team (every month), and the ops team for all other grants (bi-monthly). Registration for the first IUK drop-in on 17 February is open, and you can find dates for future calls and sign up here.
A reminder of the next Research Finance Forum on 25 February, an online space for those working in research finance in a BUFDG member university to meet peers and hear about current topics. There will be information on tax on research, a presentation from UKRI on PGR matters, an update on Innovate UK and TRAC facilities engagement, and more.
PENSIONS
We’re hosting a roundtable meeting for CFOs/FDs to discuss the possible options for the USS pension scheme after the 2026 valuation, and how institutions might respond to the UCEA consultation on this. CFOs/FDs can book a place here for the meeting on 2 March.
SUSTAINABILITY
EAUC has published a report on the state of sustainability in the further and higher education sectors. With more than 120 providers responding (around 65% of them from the H E sector), it provides a “comprehensive snapshot of where the sector currently stands” and reveals “a sector with strong ambition and commitment, but facing significant structural constraints”.
JOBS OF THE FORTNIGHT
With an application closing date of this Friday (13 February), the University of Oxford is looking for a new Head of Tax, to take responsibility for the University’s tax strategy, ensuring the University is fully compliant with its tax obligations in the UK and internationally, to provide advisory services to departments and divisions, and to lead the tax team.
The University of York is looking for a Research Grant Finance Officer in the Department of Health Sciences, to provide pre and post award support for their research grant portfolio, including oversight of the development and submission of funding proposals and first level funding approval, as well as supporting and training Research Group Administrators.
And UCEA is looking for a Pensions Technical Adviser to support the senior members of the Pensions team in providing member institutions with pensions technical support and analysis.
There are lots more vacancies on our Jobs page.
