BUFDG Digest 8 April

BUFDG  

We announced the new dates for the 2026 Finance Festival in the last Digest, but due to member feedback from several institutions letting us know those dates were not great for many finance team staff due to year-end and quarter-end work, we have amended the dates (again). So please save the new (new!) dates of 16-18 November for the Finance Festival (with sincere apologies for chopping and changing, but we wanted to be responsive to the feedback as it would have impacted many of our delegates). 

This year’s BUFDG AGM will be held online for 30 minutes on 24 April, and CFOs/FDs can find more information and book a place via this Discussion Board post, as well as find the voting papers and vote in the online survey. As a membership organisation, your vote is vital. 

SECTOR 

HM Treasury has responded to the Chair of the Education Committee regarding VAT on shared services UK higher education, with the cost sharing exemption put forward as a solution, with no suggestion of any changes to it. 

Discussions at the recent PIE Live Europe 2026 conference suggested further visa breaks should be expected by the sector, following the recent withdrawal of study visa issuance to nationals from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Cameroon and Sudan. The Russell Group has also issued a briefing paper raising concerns about the implementation and characterisation of the new visa restrictions.  

The Quality Council has identified five common principles providers across the UK should adopt to “maintain and enhance quality in times of financial constraint” and published examples of best practice via Universities UK. 

The Association of Higher Education Professionals (AHEP) has been seeking new trustees for its Board, and is still looking for a Treasurer. Appointed for three years, this is a voluntary role (though expenses will be paid) in which the role holder will share “collective responsibility with fellow trustees for the governance and strategic direction of the charity and its trading subsidiary, AHEP Enterprises Ltd”. You’ll need a “high level of financial literacy and professional rigour” and “a genuine appreciation of the higher education context”. Find out more and apply here. 

ENGLAND 

The government has announced the maximum interest rates on Plan 2 and 3 student loans will be capped at 6% from 1 September to “protect students and graduates in England and Wales from the potential of inflation pressures due to the situation in the Middle East.” In the press, the year-long intervention has been welcomed by at least one university leader but is “only a first step to making the changes that we really need to get student finance onto a firm and fair footing”, The Guardian reports on a “small concession” that is “unlikely to defuse the row over the crippling cost of degree course debts”, and The Times (£) thinks “some borrowers may continue to find that the growth of their debt outpaces their repayments.” This IFS explainer unpicks why the interest rate on student loans from September 2026 to August 2027 depends on inflation measured in March 2026, and which borrowers may benefit.  

HEPI looks at how the International Student Levy could support regional growth (if it were redesigned). The PIE reports that at least one university won’t be passing the Levy fee directly on to international students.  

The OfS will develop a statement of expectations to ensure that arrangements between H E providers and foreign states meet freedom of speech and academic freedom requirements. A working group including affected students and their representatives, leaders of institutions, and academic staff with expertise in foreign interference, as well as H E sector bodies and interest groups, will provide input as the OfS develops the statement. It will focus on the contracts and arrangements institutions have with foreign states and institutions in other countries.  

Current joint directors general for policy in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Ruth Hannant and Polly Payne, have been appointed as the new Chief Executives of the OfS on a job-share basis, which is how they have worked in senior roles for the past 16 years. Their appointment takes effect from 16 June. Josh Fleming, current OfS Director of Strategy and Delivery, will serve as Interim Chief Executive from 1 April, following the departure of former Chief Executive, Susan Lapworth. 

Wonkhe’s DK has picked up on the fact that a recent DfE job advert referred to supporting institutional restructuring and “a facility of up to £360m of loan funding to support structural change”, and has been wondering what that facility might look like (IF it is even aimed, in whole or in part, at H E). 

NORTHERN IRELAND 

The Department for the Economy NI has published official statistical reports on Higher Level Apprenticeships in Higher Education and Apprenticeships in Northern Ireland for 2023/24, showing an annual increase of 15% in Higher Level Apprenticeship students in H E.  

You can keep up with all Department for the Economy NI news via this very active LinkedIn page. 

SCOTLAND 

In the run up to the Scottish election, the IFS is running a series of events looking at the current fiscal and public policy context, and analysing the proposals of the political parties. The events take place at the University of Aberdeen on 28 April, and the University of Edinburgh on 29 April. 

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) published indicative funding allocations for universities for 2026–27 (just missing the last Digest), including a £23.7m (3.3%) increase in teaching funding, and a £26.8m (8.1%) in research and innovation funding, which seek to balance “transformational support in the sector” with a “focus on increasing core funding for universities to support stabilisation.” 

The Minister for Higher and Further Education has sent the 2026/27 Letter of Guidance to the SFC, highlighting change and collaboration.  

WALES  

The Welsh Government has announced an additional £13m capital funding for allocation to Higher Education Providers within the 2025-26 financial year, to support projects that reduce operating costs and enhance student and staff facilities.  

Similar to Scotland above, the IFS is running a series of events in the run up to the Welsh election, looking at the current fiscal and public policy context, and analysing the proposals of the political parties. The events take place at Bangor University on 30 April, and at the Council Chamber in Cardiff on 1 May. 

Medr published a review of the financial sustainability of the Welsh higher education sector, based on the 2023-23 and 2024-25 annual financial statements published by eight “very diverse” institutions. The report acknowledges the “exceptionally challenging financial environment” but finds that “no university in Wales is currently at imminent risk of disorderly financial failure.” 

Medr has also published the framework for its new, cross-tertiary (first of its kind in the UK) regulatory system, as well as supporting documentation and Frequently Asked Questions. Additional guidance and materials will be published throughout 2026-27 with providers able to register “in the next year” via an online portal currently being developed. 

The Welsh Government has published: Get ready for visitor levy – quick guide. 

TAX AND PAYROLL 

The latest edition of TaxHE is out, and it's another bumper monthly update on all things tax‑related in H E from BUFDG Tax HQ (aka Andrea and Julia)! You’ll find a wealth of news, resources, and things you need to know, plus links to catch up on recent Time to Talks on mitigating VAT on the sharing of costs, navigating the tax landscape if you’re setting up in India, and the Employment Status Quarterly update, covering 26/27 tax updates, new umbrella companies legislation (effective from 6 April), workplace nurseries, and more. 

Andrea has set out detailed information on the Tax Discussion Board about HMRC’s recent loss in the Court of Appeal judgement in the case of Colchester Institute (a Further Education college), in relation to the VAT treatment of government grants. It sounds like it ought to be a good thing (it is for Colchester Institute), but it almost certainly isn’t (for anybody else) – it will likely have wide ramifications in the FE sector, and we will need to keep a close eye on how it could impact H E. Xienadin have a useful article here where they break down the implications for FE. 

PROCUREMENT  

The Cabinet Office has announced a package of measures to ensure the public sector’s £400 billion annual spend better supports UK jobs, skills and national security, building on the Procurement Act 2023 and last year’s consultation on growing British industry, the response to which was also published. The plans include new national security guidance, strengthened requirements on UK steel and shipbuilding, a forthcoming Public Interest Test for large, outsourced contracts, a reinstated Two‑Tier Code, a refreshed definition of social value and the introduction of AI tools to streamline procurement, with detailed guidance to follow in the summer. 

The Government Commercial Agency (GCA) came into operation 1 April 2026. GCA is an “enhanced executive agency” that brings together commercial expertise from several of the Cabinet Office’s Central Commercial Teams and Crown Commercial Service (CCS) into a single, integrated agency, “achieving better value for taxpayers and supporting the Government’s missions”.  

FINANCIAL REPORTING 

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has been ‘In Conversation’ on the Government's recently issued UK Sustainability Reporting Standards and the FRC's ongoing work to support high-quality sustainability assurance engagements. There are no specific H E developments, but we’re watching to see what might filter through as best practice over time.  

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION  

Former Cambridge VC, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, has been named by Science Secretary Liz Kendall as her preferred candidate for Chair UKRI. He was also previously Chair of Cancer Research UK and Chief Executive of the Medical Research Council. He is expected to take up the role later this summer, subject to pre-appointment scrutiny by the Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee (expected to take place at a hearing in April), succeeding current UKRI Chair, Sir Andrew Mackenzie. 

The request for proposals for the second cohort of ARIA’s Activation Partners Programme has opened, and applications must be submitted by 21 May. The work is being expanded across two pillars - the first doubles down on what works: supporting the translation of frontier R&D from ARIA’s opportunity spaces through programmes spanning talent pipelines, engineering support, and organisation building; and the second introduces a new direction: expanding Activation Partnerships to bring advanced AI capabilities – from AI for Science tools to emerging AI Scientist systems – to ARIA-funded researchers and programmes. 

A reminder for the next Innovate UK drop-in surgery (14 April 11-12), a chance to raise your queries with the Horizon Guarantee and operations teams for all grants. Please register here and highlight topics in advance where possible to help IUK colleagues prepare and make the session as useful as possible.  

SUSTAINABILITY / ESTATES  

JRP Solutions has published a Higher Education 'ESG Jargon Buster' and accompanying regulations matrix published by JRP Solutions explains common terms and acronyms relating to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and summarises relevant regulations and whether they apply/don’t apply in H E, why and their priority level. An interactive, online version is expected later this year.  

INVESTMENT 

Money Fund Market (MFM) is running a practical webinar at 11am on 23 April on how universities can optimise their cash balances. It is designed to help Finance Directors, Managers, and Treasury functions to understand how AAA-rated money market funds (MMFs) and modern treasury technology can work together to maximise cash and deliver best‑in‑class cash management outcomes.  

 
PENSIONS  

Catch up on this month’s major pension developments in the latest BUFDG Pensions newsletter, including USS consultation activity on value for money, trustee governance, and EV duty; April’s 3.8% increases across LGPS, TPS and SAUL; updated LGPS limits and bands for 2026/27; UCU and UCEA exchanges on the future of TPS; the delayed TPS move to Tata; HMRC’s latest newsletters on tax and compliance changes; and new guidance affecting State Pension and GMP calculations. Plus, don’t miss the upcoming First Actuarial session on pension cost accounting. 

The University and College Union (UCU) has called upon the government to “address the growing threat to the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS) and defined benefit (DB) provision more widely”, citing "accelerating attempts to erode pension security, using the current financial crisis as cover” by university employers.  

MISCELLANEOUS 

Shakespeare Martineau has published some quite in-depth thoughts on ‘Governance after Gillies’. 

JOB OF THE FORTNIGHT 

The University of Liverpool is looking for a new Tax Manager to lead the University’s VAT compliance and advisory functions, providing expert guidance on complex VAT matters, supporting strategic financial planning, and contributing to the development of tax-efficient practices. The role reports to the Head of Tax, and the University is looking for an “experienced and highly motivated individual with knowledge of working in a large complex organisation who is able to perform effectively under significant pressure” and you will need “[e]xtensive experience in tax advisory and compliance, ideally within a complex or public sector environment”. Find more details here.  

As always, find more opportunities on the BUFDG jobs page.