Welcome to our Spring 2026 edition of HaysMac’s Higher and Further Education Briefing.
It remains a challenging time for both the Further and Higher Education sectors, with financial sustainability remaining very high on the agenda for most institutions. Continued uncertainty is certain to dominate the coming months and years, including the effect of events in the Middle East on the global economy.
Governance remains a key topic in the Higher Education sector following the Gillies Report into the University of Dundee. In April 2026, the Committee of University Chairs released a draft of its fundamentally revised Higher Education Code of Governance Code. In our first article, I explore some key aspects of the revised Code in relation to financial governance.
Regulatory expectations of both the Further and Higher Education sectors remain high, and this thread runs through our Briefing. Richard Weaver, Partner, covers the impact of the Renters Rights Act on the sector in his first article. Georgia Piper, Senior Manager, then covers franchising in Higher Education which has been a significant area of regulatory focus for the Office for Students.
Turning to future opportunities – Richard’s second article, co-authored with Jack Williams, Senior Manager, considers how university trading subsidiaries can benefit from Research and Development tax credits.
Similarly Dougie Todd, Partner, considers how the operation of the Capital Goods Scheme can be applied when considering major capital projects.
Turning to Further Education, the Department for Education has issued its annual revisions to the College Accounts Direction and College Financial Handbook. In his article Tom Beswick, Manager, covers the key changes arising from both documents.
Both the Further and Higher Education sectors are looking ahead to the implementation of the new SORP. In our discussions with clients, the revised leasing requirements are typically the most complex areas to apply. Emma Gabe, Senior Manager, assesses the key changes arising from the new lease requirements and how institutions can be prepare themselves in advance of implementation for their 31 July 2027 year ends.
Finally, guest author Martin Baxter, Deputy CEO, Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP) considers the key skills for high-performing sustainability and environmental professionals, and the integration of sustainability into curricula.
We hope you enjoy this briefing and find our articles useful to your institution. If anything sparks your interest, or you’d like to explore any of the issues further, please feel free to reach out to me directly, the article author, or your usual HaysMac contact.
