24 September 2025 
Matt Sisson, Projects and Membership Manager
BUFDG
After sadly saying goodbye to Gill a few weeks ago, we’re pleased that both of our new members have staff have now started, with feet at least tentatively approaching the table - if not yet completely underneath. Dara Voice is our new Events Manager, generally working Monday-Wednesday, and will be the main point of contact for in-person events and most of our conferences. Richard Twiddle started this week in a new role as BUFDG Support Officer, working Tuesday-Friday, to help with online events, support Rachel with e-learning, and general team administrative support. You can find out more about them (and the rest of the team!) on the BUFDG website.
SECTOR
The OfS has launched a consultation on changes to the TEF, with proposals including linking high ratings to “Potential eligibility for some kinds of funding in future”. Bronze ratings will no longer signify a degree of excellence above the OfS minimum quality requirements (as they do now), but rather that the HEP is “only delivering the minimum level of quality” and could result in “Potential ineligibility for some kinds of funding”, among other disincentives. David Kernohan at Wonkhe has the usual excellent summary. The consultation closes on 11 December.
We don’t just get TEF news, though, because Research England has published the 5th iteration of the KEF, highlighting the progress the sector has made in knowledge exchange activities, through extensive dashboards. The launch is celebrated by Wonkhe’s James Coe, who also laments that its “hundreds of stories” about universities and “their places, economic impact, and the tangible impact they make on people’s lives”, don’t cut through in the way that they could.
In some follow-up coverage to the announcement earlier in the month of the merger between Greenwich and Kent, Wonkhe’s Debbie McVitty takes a look at where the institutions are in the process, and the long road ahead. The Week has an article thinking through whether the model is one others in the sector might seek to emulate. Over at Wonkhe, David Kernohan asks whether the existing regulatory framework can handle it, and what some of the outstanding questions might be, while Jim Dickinson questions whether we’re about to see the expansion of a whole different kind of sector re-organisation, led by private companies with deep pockets and an interest in fast-track acquisition of degree-awarding powers.
In other Wonkhe articles, DK has been busy unpicking the latest UCAS statistics from this year’s clearing exercise, UCAS has released all the statistics from clearing, and Jim walks us through the new Public Office Accountability (Hillsborough) Bill, and the implications for universities.
FUNDING
We submitted written evidence to the Education Select Committee's inquiry into Higher Education and Funding: Threat of Insolvency and International Students on behalf of BUFDG members over the Summer. All the evidence submitted has now been published here (there’s a lot).
Don’t forget you can find information about a lot of the advocacy work BUFDG undertakes on behalf of members on our Advocacy webpage.
The FT has reported on banks tightening rates for university clients, the renegotiation of covenants, and the increasing use of security.
There’s been some additional commentary on the impact of the potential levy of international students, with PoliticsHome focusing on Russell Group estimates of the consequences of the policy, as well as comments from new UUK president Prof. Malcolm Press. The consultancy Public First has published its own study on the policy, and finds that the government is “drastically underestimating the impact of price increases on demand”, with the sector losing 16,000 international students in the first year of implementation. The Observer also covers the story.
Meanwhile, an article in CityAM traces the wider economic impact of university cuts.
SCOTLAND
A Scottish government reshuffle has led to the departure of HE minister Graeme Dey and the appointment to the role of Edinburgh Northern and Leith MSP Ben Macpherson. With the stage one debate of the new tertiary Funding and Governance Bill scheduled at the end of the week, he hasn’t got long to get up to speed. Wonkhe has the background here.
Over on Wonhke, Jim Dickinson is following the passage of the Housing (Scotland) Bill, and questions whether will end up doing enough to protect students.
WALES
We just missed it in the last Digest, but the Welsh government has launched a consultation inviting the public to give their views on how they think Wales should manage changes to tax laws. The Welsh Tax Acts cover land transaction tax, landfill disposals tax, and the rules and powers for the Welsh Revenue Authority to collect Welsh taxes. The consultation is due to run until 28 November 2025.
Medr has published allocations for the Higher Education Research Capital (HERC) fund for 25/26, covering capital investment in the physical infrastructure for research. There’s £9.2m to go around in total.
NORTHERN IRELAND
In Northern Ireland, Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald has launched a consultation on the possibility of increasing the fee cap for postgraduate students. The consultation closes on 7 November.
TAX AND PAYROLL
Julia and Andrea have returned from the Summer with their first TaxHE newsletter of the year. It’s a ‘what you might have missed’ edition, collating the main stories for the past 10 weeks and helpfully summarising for easier consumption.
All future Regional Tax Group Meetings have been scheduled for October and November, dates and booking links can all be found here.
If you have internationally mobile employees, and use a reward structure that includes bonuses or incentives, you will be interested in this recent HMRC guidance clarification. Unfortunately this could raise costs for the sector – with some institutions impacted more than others. Follow the link to join in the discussion.
PROCUREMENT / COUNTER-FRAUD
The Transforming Public Procurement Community of Practice (CoP) meetups will cover Section 70 of the Procurement Act’s implementation - this is the what, how and when of linking payments to the contract. Booking is now open on Eventbrite. Members can find out more and sign up via the links on the HEPA website here.
Jisc have published an article containing case studies of three of the frameworks they operate, and demonstrating the value for the sector. These include compliance around software licensing, research tools, and Adobe suites.
LUPC has launched a tender for Estates Professional Services running as a Competitive Flexible Procedure under Procurement Act 2023 regulations. You can find out more about the project here, including how to get involved.
The SLC has published an article on the government website, warning students of scams as the academic year starts. It’s a useful collection of top-tips, links to further resources, and useful contact details, which you can share with students, and others in your institution.
Pinsent Masons have shared news of the first conviction (after just 8 years!) under the Corporate Criminal Offence. The fact that it’s the only one so far will have few quaking in their boots, but a useful reminder that making sure your staff complete BUFDG’s CFA e-learning can be part of your institutional mitigation.
Tate has recently developed The University Workforce Playbook - a resource developed for its university clients, but available to all. It’s a high-level, practical guide designed for HR and Procurement professionals in the sector. It offers an outline of current trends impacting non-academic staffing, strategies for streamlining recruitment and planning, and quick-wins.
RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
Amid the recent UK government reshuffle, Patrick Vallance has taken on a new role, as Minister for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). He was previously Minister for Science.
ARMA and UUK have published a report looking at the impact of sector financial pressures on the research ecosystem, as well as broader activities. The Russell Group has added its own anaylsis and commentary on the topic in a blog post here.
A new report by CASE have highlighted barriers in the Visa system for UK R&D, looking at areas such as visa costs, government communications, and experience of nagivating the system in general.
Registrations are open for the next Research Finance Forum on Wed 15 Oct (1.30-3pm, online). The agenda will include UKRI's Head of Impact and Research & Innovation Resilience and Funding Assurance Lead, and updates on the RFF Teams channel/Innovate UK working groups.
FINANCIAL REPORTING / SORP
A new guide to lease management software in the context of FRS 102 is now available on the SORP Knowledge Hub. All other SORP info is available on the website here.
Registration is open for the next SORP Implementation Forum on 11 November 2025.
SUSTAINABILITY / ESTATES
HEPI has published a blog calling for more joined-up thinking in UK workforce planning, noting the role that ‘green skills’ can play in driving economic growth, supporting the transition to net-zero, as well as tackling other challenges such as the disruption caused by AI. They clarify the three distinct elements to the idea of ‘green skills’, and how universities should reposition themselves in the discussion.
The government has published the list of completed phase 3 projects under the public sector decarbonisation scheme (PSDS), as well as the recipients of phase 4 funding – universities feature heavily in both.
Despite the scheme not continuing, and the many other challenges facing the sector, David Duncan, COO at the University of Glasgow, writes in an article for Wonkhe that the sector must continue to press ahead on the transition to net-zero.
INVESTMENT
The Banking Engagement Forum, led by University of Cambridge, has invited all co-signatories to a Cash and Money Market Request for Proposals update meeting on Wednesday, 22nd October, 12-1pm to share developments across the cash deposits, quasi-Money Market Fund, and bond index projects. Further information on the work of the Forum or becoming a co-signatory can be found on their website.
Cazenove Capital is hosting an online panel session on 7th October focusing on investing for University Endowments. It will discuss investment policy, asset allocation, stakeholder engagement and the specific needs of University Endowments as investors. Further details (and a registration link) are here.
MISCELLANEOUS
Paul Mason, Director of Strategy at UCEA has written a blog post highlighting the significant role that pensions play in making HE an attractive place to work.
The OECD has published its annual Education at a Glance report for 2025. It’s an in-depth look at how education systems and performance compare across the OECD group of developed countries. Among the countless nuggets of insight, are news that the UK continues to do well on tertiary completion rates, but is slightly below average on the graduate premium.
Are you a manager and know that your team meetings ‘need improvement’? If so, the team at Strengthify are running a free 90-minute interactive webinar on Thursday 23 October, 12:00-1:30pm, that focuses on how to make meetings more effective. It makes use of their strengths-based approach that some of you may already be familiar with, but has designed to be accessible and useful even if you’re not. More information and registration link here.
Our Job of the Fortnight is for a Head of Student Fees at Royal Holloway, University of London. The successful candidate will “lead the Student Fees Office, overseeing the full lifecycle of student billing and income collection for tuition, accommodation, and associated charges”. They will “be responsible for ensuring robust policies, processes, and controls are in place to achieve timely and accurate billing, efficient collection, and exceptional customer service.” The deadline for applications is 2 October.
As usual, there are lots of other vacancies listed on the BUFDG jobs page.
