BUFDG Digest 5 October

SECTOR / GENERAL

Last week was a week when the general population was taught what Gilts and bonds are and why they matter to pension schemes (for a good explanation, Bill Blain was on the Today programme 16.00-21.26 and The Conversation has a wealth of articles). This week is the week of the Conservative Party Conference, and we’re likely to hear from the Prime Minister today if any more of the divisive policies included in last week’s ‘mini-budget’ will be postponed or cancelled. There was very little mention of universities or Higher Education directly in that fiscal event, but there were significant implications for the sector across a whole range of areas. Julia and Andrea have been working very hard to summarise what you need to know, and have distilled all their thoughts in this article. Do click through because it really is a must-read or, at the least, a must-scan. A couple of highlights though:

The 1.25% increase in employee NIC will be repealed and back to pre-6 April 2022 levels, from November. The Health & Social Care Levy due to come into force in April 2023, will be cancelled, however the government will continue to provide the promised funds to the NHS.  For more information on the reversal, read HM Treasury’s policy paper. Also, the Government's Growth Plan will scrap the off-payroll working rules (IR35) introduced for the public sector in 2017, with effect from 6 April 2023. This means that individuals providing their services through an intermediary (typically their own personal limited company) will be responsible for assessing their own employment status. 

This week is also BUFDG’s Tech Week where, across the five days, members are enjoying 19 sessions from a range of organisations that address all things technology-related in HE finance. It’s too late to sign up for the remaining sessions, but BUFDG members can log in to the website to access all the recordings and slides. There are some up there already, and we’ll add the remainder as soon as we can.

A reminder that the deadline for submitting a session proposal for next year's Finance Festival is 5pm on Monday 10th October. There's more information, including on how to submit, in this discussion post. The festival only works with the support and involvement of BUFDG members, and so we'd love for colleagues in the sector to submit a proposal for a session. This might be a case study of a challenge you've been through recently, or some insight that you've gleaned through undertaking your role, or it might be an example of work done with a supporting company, that has helped you become more efficient or effective. Or, if you're brave, it might be a horror story of something that has gone terribly wrong, and the lessons that you've learned for next time!

TAXES

AUDE and BUFDG have jointly submitted this response to HMRC's “Digitalising Business Rates: connecting business rates and tax data” – Open Consultation.  Thank you to the members of AUDE and BUFDG who took the time to review and comment on the draft response.

BUFDG has been working with David Miller and Jack Atkins from The Customs People to prepare a table that outlines the Procedure Codes relevant to the H E sector for imports and exports when using the Customs Declaration Service (CDS).  CDS is compulsory for imports wef 1 October 2022. The table will help members to identify the Procedure that should be used when import duty and/or VAT reliefs are being claimed in relation to, for example. Temporary Imports, Returned Goods Relief, Inward and Outward Processing and when relief is being claimed for medical research or training. For more information, read this article.

HMRC have issued a Policy Paper entitled Research and Development Tax Relief reform.  This sets out 3 key areas of change and will affect companies that carry out research and development and claim Research and Development (R&D) Tax Relief under either of two schemes — the Research and Development Expenditure Credit (RDEC) and the small or medium enterprises (SME) R&D relief.

There are a couple of useful tax-related webinars this month. Time to Talk: Subsidiaries (online) - issues to think about is on 18 October at 10am via MS Teams. In this “back to basics” Time to Talk session, Harriet Latham (from the University of Glasgow), Julia and Andrea will run through the key Corporation Tax, Employment Tax and VAT issues that you need to think about when setting up and/or trading via subsidiaries, including the issues to consider when sharing staff and resources. At the Time to Talk (online): Transfer Pricing - Advanced session on 26 October, Kirsty Rockall and Louise Gannon from GT will consider the new rules that impact on groups with a turnover in excess of €750m. 

PAYROLL TAXES

From 6 April 2023, the basic rate of tax in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will reduce from 20% to 19%.  This has knock on effects on pensions and gift aid. Please read our budget commentary to find out more.

The Living Wage Foundation has announced an increase in the Living Wage to £10.90 per hour in the UK and £11.95 per hour in London to reflect the sharp increases to the cost of living. Read the press release from Living Wage Foundation and the Accountancy Daily article for more information.

The August edition of HMRC's Employer Bulletin has various information/updates, including:

PSA payment deadline of 22 October; Reiterating the importance of using the correct address for new employees, and; Tax avoidance – provide your contractors with ‘don’t get caught out’ along with organised labour fraud.

There’s currently a consultation to Review of Hybrid and Distance working (whilst being conducted by the ‘soon to close’ Office of Tax Simplification, it has been confirmed that the findings will be delivered before the lights are turned  out). The OTS are looking at trends into how people are choosing to work, both domestically and internationally.  Submissions are due by Friday, 25 November. If you would like to provide comments to include in BUFDG’s response, please click here.

The next round of PEGs will take place online and will discuss various topical issues, including holiday pay, employment status, salary sacrifice and cost of living assistance, register your place by clicking the links below (NB you don’t have to stay in your ’region’ if the date/time doesn’t suit): London, South East, Northern Ireland – 3 October; Midlands – 4 October; South – 4 October; Wales – 5 October; North – 6 October, and; Scotland – 6 October.

As usual, the latest TaxHE can be read in full on the BUFDG website.

PROCUREMENT

Ashley has written up his notes from the Transforming Public Procurement L&D Working Group. The discussion covered communications, written guidance and the recent stakeholder survey. HEPA represents the sector on the Transforming Public Procurement programme, so please do let Ashley know if you have any feedback on the programme or procurement reform more widely – he’ll ensure it is fed into the team direct.

APUC is currently working to refresh the existing HR/Payroll and Finance Systems Framework, on behalf of the sector. It is looking for working party members, especially System practitioners, that would be interested in one or more of: supplier pre-market Webinars; reviewing the existing Specification for new content;  evaluating tender returns within the supplier framework Responses. It is anticipated that tender preparation input would be required in October and November and that the evaluation of supplier Responses would be in January or February (Q1) of 2023. If interested please contact Peter Jackson. 

Labour has pledged to take action on the use of tax havens by companies bidding for and winning public procurement contracts. The Guardian has the story.

OTHER

BUFDG has worked hard over the years to improve understanding of university business models and demystify financial jargon, running a series of events and creating an extensive publication. We’re now pleased to add to those efforts a course, created especially for non-accountants to understand more about university finance. Demystifying Finance and Budgeting in the HE sector (for Non-Accountants) will be delivered on-line on Tuesday 1 November and 15 November from 9.30am – 1pm. It is made up of three main modules, and more information can be found in this article. For any queries, please contact Rachel.

David Kernohan at Wonkhe makes the case for another major government review of Higher Education – but says the focus shouldn’t be on fees this time around.

Susanna Kalitowski, Head of Policy at University Alliance, has written a blog for HEPI on how the government can make the most of universities to help drive its growth agenda.

ATFS has published its September bulletin, which can be downloaded from its Supporter Directory page. This one looks at inflation and interest rates, ESG assessments, and more.

Newton IM has published the findings of its annual survey into investment management in charities. One of the main headings is that three-quarters of respondents now list inflation as their biggest concern.  

Our job of the fortnight is for a Principal Auditor at the University of Reading. Among other skills, the successful candidate will have the “capability to scope and plan complex audits, conduct audit interviews within prescribed timescales, and produce high quality reports and supporting working papers”, as well as “the ability to assist with and perform investigation assignments as and when required”. The deadline for applications is 14^th October.

Also, our sister organisation H E S P A is looking for an ambitious and energetic Membership Development Manager to listen to member needs, identify solutions and drive forward to implement projects and support streams. The role holder will have at least three years’ experience of working in the higher education sector, in any function or department, and share a basic understanding of the policy environment in which our institutional and individual members operate.

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