BUFDG Digest 7 October

BUFDG

We’re pleased to share that the mini-site for the Finance Festival is now live. We’re working to finalise the last few bits of the programme, and as soon as we have more details confirmed we’ll add them to the site. You can book now (it’s completely Free!) and use your ticket to access as many or as few of the sessions as you like. Visit the site for more information.

We're also delighted to welcome a new team member this week – Robin Bagshaw, a graduate from Aberystwyth University, joins us as our new Events and Admin Assistant, and will be working three days a week (usually Tues-Thurs). Robin will be getting to grips with our systems and processes (and who's who) for the first couple of weeks, but will then be looking after arrangements for our smaller online events such as Time to Talk sessions, webinars, and member meetings. You can find out more about Robin on our Staff webpage.

SECTOR

UCEA has published the conclusion to the 26/27 pay round negotiations, advising employers to implement a 2% uplift as soon as possible.

As far as sector focus for the last fortnight is concerned, there’s been a lot of looking back and looking forwards. Looking back to the party conferences – in particular the Conservative and Labour events. And starting the countdown to the Autumn Budget, taking place on 28 October.

On the former, the Conservatives announced plans to remove access to student loans to non-UK nationals, saving an estimated £900m a year in loan write-offs. There’s no estimate on the reduction of income for the HE sector as a result or the hit to the wider economy. Wonkhe’s John Blake was at the conference, and reported back on not just the policy but overall vibe, and apart from a ‘tough love’ approach to young people and employment, found very little of interest to the university crowd. John’s take on the Labour conference was not much different, noting a strong focus on NEETs and that universities were rarely mentioned. “To raise a cri de cœur about young people going without education, employment or training, and never once look to the largest providers of education and training in the country, feels distinctly odd”. Jim Dickinson’s focus was on the re-warming of the Help to Buy scheme, and why someone would think the solution for an indebted generation of graduates struggling to get on the housing ladder would be another loan product.

On the Budget, UUK have published its submission, which includes the now standard plea regarding greater flexibility for universities obligated to offer TPS, as well as begging that the ISL proposal is halted, and that there is some form of VAT exemption on shared services. You can Download and read the full submission on UUKs site here, with the Russell Group version here. Grant Thornton have put together a ‘what we know so far’ briefing looking at possible tax policy changes. While there are a number of round-up webinars for your schedule: Isio have a briefing on the morning of the 29 October, from 8.30-9am, providing a concise summary of everything pensions, benefits, and savings announced by the Chancellor. The NCUB equivalent is member-only and takes place at 2pm, with the focus on “initial analysis of what the Autumn Budget means for university–business collaboration, investment in R&D and innovation, and skills and talent”.

The OECD has published its Education at a glance report for 2026, showing how education compares across developed nations, including on funding. The headline though is one of teacher shortages (and indeed shortages of most skilled professionals), a problem not completely allayed through demographic decline or improvements in technology. Jim Dickinson delves behind the headlines to explain why the figures on HE spend in the UK are misleading, and finds that “on the best evidence available, the UK spends an almost exactly average amount teaching each student each year”.

It’s a bumper week for HE statistic reports, with the publication of the Discover Uni dataset, in-year student withdrawal notifications from the SLC, as well as a UUKi report on TNE in UK HE showing a 7% annual increase in the number of enrolled students to almost 700k – a 36.7% increase over the last five years. And, in total 183 providers delivered this TNE in 229 countries or territories, with Asia hosting just over half. In related news, HESA has produced a new interactive dashboard to show “information about international students studying in the UK and overseas through UK transnational education arrangements”.

The HEPI soft power index which tracks where international leaders studied has been published for 2026, and found that the UK holding position with 60 world leaders educated here.

And finally, MI5 has published espionage risk in research funding from a Chinese institution, impacting about 100 UK academics. Wonkhe’s David Kernohan summarises what we know, and what we don’t.

ENGLAND

New research from UUK and London Economics has found that the government’s share of investment in student higher education and support has fallen from 0.42% of GDP in 2012-13 to just 0.12% in 24-25 – or just 16p in ever £1 spent on teaching, according to the headline.

The latest update to the GOV.UK Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) guidance includes a change in the opening date for student finance applications for LLE funded courses and modules from September 2026 to late October 2026 (for courses starting from January 2027 onwards), as well details on which Allied Health Professional subjects qualify for priority additional entitlement.

The latest YouGov polling suggests a slight, positive bounce on the question of whether degrees from English providers are good VfM, and also on the perception of how they perform in relation to their European counterparts.

SCOTLAND

The Scottish Funding Council has published its annual financial sustainability report for Scotland’s universities and colleges. The headline figures are challenging, with the sector forecasting a surplus of £67.9m for 2025-26, declining to a wafer-thin sector-wide surplus of £36.8m in 2026-27, excluding figures from the University of Dundee which weren’t ready in time, and despite an uplift in SFC funding for the current year. Wonkhe’s David Kernohan has a summary. The TRAC data for 23/24 has also been made available at the same time.

The Scottish Government has published details of institutions and projects awarded money as a result of a successful application to the Proof of Concept fund for research commercialisation. Just under £3milion was awarded in total.

WALES

Universities Wales has made its submission to the Welsh Government’s Skills Audit, noting that by 2035 “95% of new jobs are expected to require graduate level skills”… but that “Wales currently has the lowest rate of full-time undergraduate participation in the UK and, in 2026, recorded the lowest proportion of Welsh 18-yearolds entering higher education for a decade.” It concludes that Universities should be central to meeting the required future skills supply.

TAX AND EMPLOYMENT

The updated Framework for Higher Education Partial Exemption Special Methods, including Annex M - the treatment of non-business activity been published on the BUFDG website. While the technical content has been agreed with HMRC, members should note that the guidance cannot yet be relied upon until it is formally published on HMRC’s webpages.

There are a number of Tax and Employment sessions coming up, including Payroll and Employment Tax Group Manchester (13 Oct), Regional Tax Group Midlands (14 Oct), Employment Status Surgery (15 Oct). And all the latest Tax and Employment news can be found in the most recent TaxHE newsletter.

PROCUREMENT

The sector Responsible Procurement Group (RPG) meets on a quarterly basis with the aim of identifying, sharing and promoting best practice on responsible procurement throughout the sector. The group has produced a 2025 to 2026 update which can be found on the BUFDG website here. The update covers the activity of the sub-groups, as well as opportunities to get involved in responsible procurement activity.

FINANCIAL REPORTING

Following the publication of the DfE’s Understanding the cost of Undergraduate Provision and Qualifications in the HE sector in England report, we are able to share the subsequent presentation by DfE delivered at the TRAC Conference. It’s a useful watch for anyone looking to understand why the report was commissioned, its scope and objectives, how the data was collected, the study’s limitations and key themes emerging from the findings.  

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

UKRI has published details of a new £19million pot for pilots into new institutional collaborations (England only) and seed funding for innovation partnerships (UK-wide).

UUK has undertaken a major piece of work to map existing university research against seven of the eight ‘growth driving sectors’ identified in the government’s 2025 Industrial Strategy, and how this activity is distributed across the UK, as well as the connections between them. “The picture that emerges is not of separate industries supported by a handful of research centres. It is of a connected UK-wide research ecosystem, built from distinctive capabilities across the UK, with universities helping to create and connect the knowledge on which the industries of tomorrow can grow.” On top of the report there’s an accompanying dashboard to support universities and investment and collaboration decision makers when considering future initiatives.

The next Research Finance Forum takes place on the 14 October. Members can book their place here.

PENSIONS

Julia has published the September newsletter, including the USS 2026 valuation consultation, TPS administration transfer to Tata, small pension pots consolidation proposals, ongoing NHSPS administration review, and an opportunity for a finance-sector representative on the USS JNC. It’s a great whistlestop tour for members to get their head around all the latest developments. Similarly, the team from Marsh (formerly Mercer) have also published their round-up of sector pensions news for September.

BUFDG recently sought clarification from USS on the treatment of employees working overseas and the potential implications for USS membership and benefits where eligibility issues arise. USS has emphasised that these cases are often complex and must be considered on their individual facts and circumstances. Employers with specific cases are encouraged to engage with USS directly, and USS has confirmed that it is happy to discuss individual situations informally at an early stage. Julia goes into more detail in this article.

MISCELLANEOUS

In sustainability news, Bevan Brittan has published a report on how to deliver against decarbonisation targets in UK HE, with a particular focus on infrastructure, access to capital, and institutional capacity. It is supporting the report with two webinars, looking at practical decarbonisation solutions on 14 October, and changes to the regulation of Heat Networks on 21 October.

AHUA have recently opened applications for their Aspiring Registrar and COO Programme, a popular professional development programme designed to support aspiring university registrars and chief operating officers in developing the leadership skills, knowledge and experience needed for senior roles in higher education. Members can find more information about the programme on the webpage here. Any questions can be directed to Tamsin Dyson.

Barclays are running a webinar exploring Financial Crime in Education: Emerging Risks and Practical Protection, on the morning of Thursday 22 October.  The webinar will cover practical insights into how criminals target students and education institutions, including the latest money mule recruitment tactics and real-life case studies.  Tony Sales, Danielle Karanicholas and Mariam Sisse from We Fight Fraud will also be joining in. Members can sign up to attend here.

In related news, we want to remind members of the range of BUFDG resources related to counter-fraud, including our e-learning courses covering an Intro to Counter-Fraud and ECCTA – Failure to Prevent Fraud, amongst many other relevant topics.

Our Job of the Fortnight is for the Chief Finance and Operating Officer role at the Office for Students. The successful candidate will be part of the OfS executive committee, and will be “responsible for the delivery of key internal corporate services to support the delivery of the Office for Students (OfS) strategy and objectives as the regulator of higher education in England.” There appears to be no deadline for applications, but all other information can be found on the OfS website.

As usual, there are lots of other vacancies listed on the BUFDG jobs page.