David Willetts delivered a very upbeat speech at the Politeia Winter Address last Thursday. According to Willetts, “our universities are precious national institutions which the Government wants to see well supported. Reducing the costs universities face will enable them to focus more of their resources on world-class teaching and research".
He also referred to the implementation of the cost sharing exemption for VAT as “an agreement reached with Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) will enable universities to become more efficient through closer collaboration” , and confirmed that he had written to our UUK to “give…the good news about the Treasury’s agreement to exempt shared services from VAT. The Treasury has confirmed that, under the principle of direct effect, universities can immediately benefit from this decision, and I know it will be welcomed by institutions."
Whilst we at BUFDG did welcome the news when it was released by HMT in early December, we hope that our readership remain of the opinion that the adoption of the EU Law into UK Law is only the starting point. We are still awaiting the official guidance on implementation, and rushing ahead would be inadvisable without this. Further, although HMT have undoubtedly done a good job in making the exemption as useful as possible to Universities and Charities, implementation is far from straightforward. Sharing services requires a significant commitment by all the collaborators and significant upfront investment, and given the legislation was written in the 1970’s for a different era, fitting within will also be an effort, and may be impossible for those research intensive institutions.
Mr Willetts also went on to announce HEFCE’s review of philanthropy and the department’s intentions to reduce the cost of data collection. The neatly titled Information Landscape Project will explore what information is already collected, what is actually needed and why. The project hopes to identify any 'quick wins' for easing the burden on universities, as well as publishing a road map for implementing a simpler model overall."
His final piece was on a report which highlights not just the importance of international students to the UK but the benefits that those students enjoy. It shows that, three years after graduating, more than four-fifths of international students feel that their UK degree was worth the financial investment. Their skills are in high demand, and they achieve markedly higher average salaries in their home countries than compatriots who were educated domestically. At the same time, the great majority of our international graduates intend to retain links to their UK universities and to professional organisations within the UK.
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