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2024-07-31-accounts

Annual report and consolidated financial statements

Year ended 31 July 2024

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTSRegistered Charity in England and Wales No: 10011271 Registered Charity in Scotland No: SC052497 Registered Company No: 2517018

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ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Contents

Contents
Trustees’ report 3
Independent auditor’s report to the 24
members of Universities UK
Consolidated statement of 27
fnancial activities
Charity statement of fnancial activities 28
Balance sheets 29
Consolidated cash fow statement 30
Notes to the fnancial statements 31
Legal and administrative information 57

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Trustees’ report

The trustees present their report and the financial statements for Universities UK for the year ended 31 July 2024.

Name and membership

The name of the charity and company is Universities UK. Universities UK is the representative organisation for the UK’s universities. Its members are the executive heads of UK university institutions who have met the criteria for membership agreed by the Board of the company. It currently has 141 members. Membership is voluntary and members are represented both at the UK level and in the devolved nations through Universities Scotland and Universities Wales.

The objectives of Universities UK as set out in its Articles of Association are:

Mission and main activities

At Universities UK, we harness the power of the UK’s universities and create the conditions for them to thrive. We are the collective voice of 141 universities, bringing them together to pursue a common cause: Thriving universities, serving society.

This mission forms the core of our strategic plan which runs to 2030 and sets out our ambitions for the sector. We will use our unique role to ensure our universities can transform the lives of more individuals, drive greater growth and create flourishing places through the knowledge and skills they generate, and be globally competitive centres of research making ground-breaking discoveries. We will help them achieve more by securing sustainable funding and building pride in our universities.

Public benefit

All of Universities UK’s activities are ultimately carried out for the wider public benefit of creating and maintaining a world-class higher education sector that benefits students, the UK economy, the UK’s educational and research standing in the world and the wider social good. Collectively, the institutions led by the members of Universities UK demonstrate their wide social and economic contribution through the delivery of research, teaching, expertise and training. Higher education is available to all with the ability to benefit, regardless of their economic circumstances. The benefits of this activity to the UK are considerable.

The trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. In delivery of its services and activities, Universities UK has fully supported its members, and assisted them to achieve their public benefit goals.

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Trustees

The Board are directors of the company and trustees of the charity, elected or appointed from among its members. Those appointed for the year to 31 July 2024 were as follows:

Professor Dame Sally Mapstone DBE FRSE President 2023–2025 Professor Nic Beech Treasurer Professor Paul Boyle CBE Vice-President Wales from 1 January 2024 Professor Nishan Canagarajah Professor Karen Cox ** Professor Paul Croney OBE Professor Iain Gillespie Vice-President Scotland Professor Jane Harrington Professor Jenny Higham Professor Dame Karen Holford DBE Professor Debra Humphris CBE *** Professor Sir Gerry McCormac Professor Quintin McKellar CBE *** Vice-President England and Northern Ireland Professor Malcolm Press CBE Rt Hon James Purnell * Professor Lisa Roberts Professor Rama Thirunamachandran OBE Professor Adam Tickell ** Professor Elizabeth Treasure CBE * Vice-President Wales Professor Shearer West CBE Professor Sir Steven West CBE

* Term of office ended 31 December 2023

The following were also members of the UK Board on the date this report was approved:

Professor Graham Baldwin Professor Charles Egbu Professor Andrew Jones Professor Sasha Roseneil Professor Evelyn Welch MBE

No member of the UK Board had a beneficial interest in any contract with the company. Board members are elected by the vice-chancellors of the member universities or appointed by the Board following a recommendation from the Governance and Nominations Committee.

Chief Executive

Vivienne Stern MBE

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Structure, governance and management

Organisational structure of the company

Universities UK

Universities UK is a company limited by guarantee with the registered number 2517018, governed by its Articles of Association adopted in March 2022. It is a charity with the registered number 1001127 (England and Wales) and SC052497 (Scotland). Its principal offices are in Bloomsbury, London.

Universities Scotland

In Scotland (where it operates from its Edinburgh office under the name Universities Scotland), Universities Scotland is a national council of the charity Universities UK.

Universities Wales

In Wales (where it operates from its Cardiff office under the name Universities Wales), Universities Wales is a national council of the charity Universities UK.

Structure of subsidiary companies

Woburn House Conference Centre Ltd

Universities UK owns 100% of the share capital of Woburn House Conference Centre Ltd (company number 3031467) whose business is the operation of the conference facilities at Woburn House. Income generated from the activity of the centre is covenanted to Universities UK.

Medical Schools Council

Universities UK is the holding member of the Medical Schools Council, a company limited by guarantee (company number 8817383) and registered with the Charity Commission (number 1155370). The objects of the Medical Schools Council are to promote, encourage and develop medical schools in the UK and thereby advance education for the public benefit, in particular medical education, research and training. Its Board of Directors is elected from its own members.

The results and financial position of Woburn House Conference Centre Ltd, the Medical Schools Council and MSC Assessment are consolidated with those of Universities UK in preparing its consolidated financial statements. Separate results are shown in note 22 to the financial statements.

CVCP Properties plc

CVCP Properties plc is not a subsidiary of Universities UK but is considered to be a related party. Universities UK owns all 550,000 preference shares in CVCP Properties plc and 50,000 (1%) of its ordinary shares. Universities UK is a major tenant of CVCP Properties plc in Woburn House.

Restricted funds

The restricted funds managed by Universities UK include parts of Universities UK International funds (operating units of Universities UK). Medical Schools Council and its various funds (a subsidiary) and MSC Assessment (a sub-subsidiary) are also restricted funds in Universities UK’s consolidated financial statements. Further details on the objectives, activities and financial performance of all restricted funds are given in notes 20 and 22 to the financial statements.

Relationship with higher education sector agencies

Universities UK is the original subscribing member of various UK higher education sector agencies including Advance HE, Higher Education Careers Service Unit, Office of the Independent Adjudicator, Quality Assurance Agency, UCAS, Universities and Colleges Employers Association and Jisc.

Members of Universities UK contribute to governance oversight of these bodies through Board membership and other involvement, alongside interaction between Universities UK staff and staff of the bodies concerned. Transactions between Universities UK and these sector agencies are disclosed in note 25 to the financial statements.

MSC Assessment

The Medical Schools Council is the holding member of MSC Assessment, a company limited by guarantee (company number 8578576) and registered with the Charity Commission (number 1153045). The objects of MSC Assessment are to advance medical education for the benefit of the public including by the preparation, validation, accreditation, conduct and administration of any tests, examinations or other systems of assessing, evaluating and recording any aspect of medical education and training. Its Board of Directors is elected from members of the Medical Schools Council.

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Governance and decision-making

Non-executive directors/trustees

The Board of Trustees comprises up to 21 members and meets five times a year as a minimum. The President, elected by the members, serves a two-year term. The Chairs of Universities Scotland and Universities Wales are members of the Universities UK Board, serving as Vice-Presidents alongside an elected Vice-President for England and Northern Ireland. The membership also elects a Board member to serve as Treasurer.

Induction and training of trustees

New trustees receive information supporting their induction, which includes relevant Charity Commission and OSCR documents on the role of a trustee, a copy of the Universities UK Articles of Association and the Strategic Plan. It is the aim of the organisation to update trustees and members on any new legislation that may affect the governance of the charity and to offer on-going support through additional training when required.

Board sub-committees

Universities UK has six standing committees: Board Advisory, Resources, Audit and Risk, Governance and Nominations, Membership and Remuneration. Four elected policy lead roles on the Board lead on key policy issues of the UK higher education agenda in line with the organisation’s strategic priorities. Membership of committees is made up of a combination of Board members and Universities UK members. The Resources, Audit and Risk and Remuneration also have an independent member appointed through a competitive recruitment process.

Arrangements for setting pay and remuneration

Member input and support to the work of Universities UK is on a non-remunerated basis. The pay and remuneration of executive management is set by a Remuneration Committee, which comprises Universities UK members chaired by the Treasurer and includes an independent member. The pay and remuneration levels for all other staff grades is negotiated with the recognised union, Prospect, as part of the recognition agreement.

Charity Governance Code

Universities UK governance has been reviewed against the Charity Governance Code. Universities UK is committed to applying good practice where possible and explaining where it is not aligned, the reasons for this or changes that are being planned. The Code is applied in the context of Universities UK being a relatively small membership organisation of 141 members, with Board members elected by and from its membership.

Principle 1 – organisational purpose

2023–24 was the first year of the Strategic Plan: A common cause: thriving universities, serving society. The Board has oversight of the management of resources ensuring that the allocation is linked to operational plans in pursuit of strategic objectives and therefore overall organisational purpose.

Principle 2 – leadership

The Board is led by the President, supported by a Board Advisory Committee. Across the Board and the Advisory Committee there are robust debates leading to an agreed direction for the officers and staff to follow. The President has oversight of CEO performance.

Principle 3 – integrity

Board and Board Advisory Committee members declare all conflicts of interest at every meeting and will absent themselves from discussions as required. Through its sub-committee structures the Board has oversight of issues such as finances, HR practices, procurement, data security and integrity, safeguarding and remuneration to make sure that the charity operates responsibly in line with its own ethics and values.

Principle 4 – decision making, risk and control The Board have oversight of finance, performance and risk through its sub-committee structure and Board meeting agendas. The Audit and Risk Committees considers risk at each meeting. The Board are presented with the strategic risk registers at every meeting and have a full discussion on risk once a year, or more often if significant changes occur. All sub-committees have Terms of Reference established which are approved by the Board.

Executive management

The Chief Executive leads a Senior Leadership Team comprising the Directors of Policy; Universities UK International; Communications; Operations; Strategy, Insight and Member Engagement; Universities Scotland and Universities Wales.

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Principle 5 – Board effectiveness

15 out of 21 Board members are elected from the membership by the membership. Board posts have set terms, and roles are subject to re-election when those terms expire. It is unusual for total service to exceed nine years, but possible if members are elected to different roles on the Board or they have expertise or responsibilities relevant to the Board’s deliberations or strategic priorities.

Principle 6 – equality, diversity, and inclusion 15 board posts are elected from and by the membership. There are challenges with the diversity of potential candidates from a restricted pool. The remaining positions are ‘nominated members’ identified by the Governance and Nominations Committee and approved by the Board. The nominated positions are selected using a matrix of skills, experience, knowledge, background and institution. The Board believes that as far as it can within the constraints of an elected Board, reasonable steps are taken to ensure that diversity in its widest sense is prioritised and implemented.

Principle 7 – openness and accountability

The Board and Executive team make every effort to engage with the full membership and give all members opportunities to participate in setting the direction of work for the charity through regular member meetings, roundtable events, task and finish groups and a bi-annual member survey. The Chief Executive hosts group Teams calls each featuring 15–20 members, to which all members are invited, to discuss current issues and has a rolling programme of institution visits.

Strategic report

Strategic aims

2023–24 was the first year of the strategic plan ‘A common cause: thriving universities, serving society’. The strategic objectives in that plan are:

By 2030 we will have enabled our universities to:

To help them achieve this we will:

And, at Universities UK, we know that we need to develop to be:

These aims are achieved through the delivery of activities to members in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to support their domestic and international activities, and institutions providing higher education in medical and health. Our work is organised through annual programme plans, detailing our short-term objectives.

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Activities for members – England, Northern Ireland, UK wide and International

Our activities include policy research, analysis and development, relationship building, lobbying, campaigning and advocacy, communications with the media, public and stakeholders and development and delivery of services to our members.

This was the first year of the Presidential term of Professor Dame Sally Mapstone DBE FRSE. We are grateful to the significant contribution made by Professor Sir Steve West, who served as President 2021–23.

The strategic report sets out how we have worked for the higher education sector this year which has been a challenging year for the university sector. Financial pressures across all four nations of the UK, geopolitics, political hostility towards the quality and value of the education our universities provide, finding ourselves at the centre of culture wars, and uncertainty about international student mobility have all impacted universities’ ability to serve society. But where these challenges have arisen, Universities UK in collaboration with our members and others across the sector have acted to address them.

Where criticisms of the sector occurred we were able to respond with robust evidence or bring our members together to take action. Where potentially catastrophic policy decisions such as the potential closure of the Graduate Route emerged, we leveraged our own and our members’ networks and evidence to robustly counter the arguments.

Alongside having to respond to the external environment, we’ve continued with our proactive work. We’ve championed the sector through our positive campaigning, deepened our influence among political and stakeholders and others, and created a real shift in the narrative about university finances.

This year more than ever has shown that none of this would be possible without the engagement of our member institutions. At every turn, our members and their wider teams have provided support, advice and contributions to our work, and have supported each other.

The implementation of our strategy does mean that we have exited areas of work, like the thematic areas such as mental health, harassment and the work on concordats. We have worked with partners and other organisations supporting the sector that are already experts in particular areas and handed over areas of work. This allows Universities UK to focus resources on our key strategic aims.

Engagement with Members remains high with regular monthly VC calls, our annual conference at The University of Manchester in September 2023 and our quarterly members’ meetings. We continued our engagement with new and mid-term vice-chancellors through peer-to-peer learning opportunities, and our Specialist Institutions’ Forum (SIF) brought focus and profile to the issues of our small and specialist institutions.

The Uni Exchange, a series of webinars for university communications and marketing teams continue with monthly webinars featuring a range of guest speakers exchanging their experiences in communications, campaigns, and political engagement. The webinars provided the opportunity for professional development, insights into successful campaigns and best practice on enhancing university communications strategies. They also consider how media, digital and political engagement by individual institutions can impact on the wider sector.

Universities UK has secured a significant amount of parliamentary and political engagement in the year with 84 written and oral questions in parliament on issues of interest to Universities UK members and 93 positive references to our work from parliamentarians and government and 69 meetings with UK government and shadow ministers. The All-Party Parliamentary Universities Group, which Universities UK provides the secretariat for, has thrived with a membership of 100 universities, 52 MPs and 64 peers prior to the dissolution of Parliament.

Using print, broadcast and social media, we disseminated information to members and the wider public. There were 1,260,000 unique visitors to the Universities UK website and our social media presence continues to grow with 2.4million X (formerly Twitter) impressions and 1.7million LinkedIn impressions.

The #WeAreInternational campaign was relaunched that celebrated the social, cultural and civic contributions international students make to the UK. Over 70 universities joined the campaign on the relaunch day, reaching over 7 million people. Events and conferences remain an important channel for sharing information and good practice across the sector and providing opportunities for higher education staff and partners to network.

Our Vice President, England and Northern Ireland has regular engagement with the two Vice Chancellors in the Northern Ireland universities and keeps the Board updated with any developments or issues relating to Northern Ireland institutions.

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Key outcomes in 2023–24

As a result of the activities in the year, Universities UK achieved the following in the pursuit to secure a sustainable future for our universities, support student success and deliver high quality education.

Making the case for sustainable funding

Our strategy at the beginning of the year was threefold: to show there is a problem with the way universities are funded in all four nations of the UK, to show why sustainable funding matters, and to propose practical solutions with buy-in from stakeholders.

In January, we published the report we commissioned from PwC on the sector’s current financial sustainability. This, combined with media and political engagement, made it clear that there is a problem, and since then we have seen the narrative around university finances shift markedly with widespread understanding of the scale of the challenge. In response, we know that DfE have increased resource on HE finances and, in May, the OfS conducted a similar exercise to PwC, which further highlighted the challenges facing the English sector.

Our upcoming priorities will be working with a new government to find longer term solutions to the funding challenges including through our ‘ Blueprint ’ project, supporting members with transformation through resources and our convening power, building on February’s ‘Survive or Thrive’ Financial Sustainability event, and ensuring there are appropriate contingency plans in place in the event of provider failure. The Labour party manifesto makes it clear that financial sustainability of the higher education sector is seen as a significant issue.

Protecting the graduate route

As part of a monumental cross-sector effort, Universities UK and Universities UK International (UUKi) were central to preserving the Graduate Route. During the Spring, we coordinated the sector response to the Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) rapid review of the graduate route, meeting weekly with the MAC secretariat to provide input and collate evidence from across the sector. We engaged MPs, Peers and wider stakeholders across the political spectrum and secured coverage highlighting the importance of the Graduate Route.

Universities UK analysis showed that the introduction of the graduate route directly contributed to 632,000 international first-year enrolments over a five year period – equivalent to an additional net economic contribution of £62.6 billion to the UK economy.

Following evidence gathered from members, we were able to make a robust case with officials and others, that government interventions had reduced international student recruitment. We were able to make it clear that further changes to the policy environment would be catastrophic for the sector and by extension, to the future prosperity of the UK. As a result, Number 10 dropped plans to restrict the route, and there was no reference to it in the Conservative Manifesto.

Preparing for a general election

With the expectation of a General Election at some point in 2024, we formulated a Universities UK election strategy and were ready to implement these plans when the election was called earlier than expected. This has meant increased engagement with ministers, shadow ministers, their advisors and officials.

In February, we published our manifesto entitled ‘Opportunity and growth: a manifesto from Universities UK’. This set out how universities and the next government can work closely to support a national drive to achieve stronger economic growth and improve opportunities for individuals and for communities across the whole of the UK. It included clear, evidenced asks including reforming the student maintenance package, returning teaching investment in England to 2015–16 levels, a longterm strategic approach to R&D, and ensuring universities are able to meet skills needs and boost their local communities.

With a snap election called for July, we were well prepared to act quickly, delivering General Election guidance for members, summaries of manifestos, and working with the Electoral Commission to boost student voter registration.

Our Blueprint for Higher Education and Research

In expectation of a new government and a comprehensive spending review in the autumn, we prepared a blueprint, “ Opportunity, Growth, and Partnership ” making the case for a reset, on the part of both universities and government, of how universities serve our society and country over the next decade and into the future. The Blueprint characterises what the sector already does, in terms of education, research and innovation, what works, what should change and what needs support to achieve still more. The approach throughout the Blueprint is evidence-based, change oriented, and consciously reform driven. While the focus of the Blueprint is England in the first instance, we have been careful to set out the relevance and extension to the Devolved Administrations where it best makes sense to do so.

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The Blueprint consists of eight chapters, the development each of which were led by an expert Commissioner with the help of an expert advisory group, tackling a different area of the higher education landscape. The Commission was led by Professor Dame Sally Mapstone.

Opportunity through high-quality education

This year, we continued our work on student cost of living, including lobbying an improved maintenance package in England. We tied this ask to our ‘100 faces’ campaign which highlighted the transformative impact of university on first generation students and their impact on society. This campaign secured impressive local and national media coverage; showcased how greater diversity of access to talent leads to growth and raised awareness of the need for a fairer and more sustainable maintenance package.

We continue to work closely with UCAS, Ofqual and devolved equivalents and DfE to ensure university admissions support fairness and transparency, including by engaging with and supporting UCAS’ reform package. Following negative coverage in the Sunday Times, we have taken action to stave off damaging government intervention, including by reviewing our admissions code of practice, promoting the Agent Quality Framework, and cocommissioning the QAA’s review of international foundation programmes and international year one programmes.

Elsewhere internationally, we influenced DfE to steer decisions about dependent visas away from a ranking-based approach, influenced the design of the Turing programme with several UUKi recommendations incorporated, concluded our work with AdvanceHE on EDI in TNE, and developed our outward student mobility working group. The second part of UUKi’s #WeAreInternational campaign celebrated the contributions of international students graduates and alumni.

We continue to support members with student experience issues including convening members and stakeholder groups on supporting student mental health, harassment and other student experience challenges, including extensive support and resources on responding to campus issues relating to the conflict in Israel and Gaza (outlined below).

On regulatory and quality matters, we fed into and influenced the recommendations on the House of Lords enquiry into the OfS and the Behan Review, worked closely with DfE on franchise provision and the NAO report, continued our secretariat of the UK Standing Committee for Quality Assessment (UKSCQA), and liaised with Jisc, HESPA and the OfS on difficulties with rollout of Data Futures. This policy work was complemented by outward messaging; vigorously responding to attacks on poor quality and low value, disseminating analysis on longitudinal employment outcomes, and ensuring quality and value was a thread running through our campaigns and briefings.

A Taskforce, set up in partnership with Unite Students and chaired by Professor Nic Beech, ViceChancellor, University of Salford convened dozens of stakeholders to explore the drivers of student drug use and put forward practical recommendations for universities. Informed by polling, focus groups and expert roundtable discussions, the report found that only a minority of students who take drugs have ever asked for support from their university about it. With this in mind and drawing on evidence from across the sector and internationally, the report sets out how a drug ‘harm reduction’ approach could lead to better outcomes than straightforward zero-tolerance approaches, recognising that student health and wellbeing should be central to institutional policies.

Key publications

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Knowledge and skills for growth and prosperity

In September we published our report in collaboration with London Economics on the contribution the higher education sector makes to the UK economy. The report outlined how universities contribute over £130bn and support over a quarter of a million jobs. The report gained widespread national and local coverage. The findings later fed into a series of regional briefings about economic growth highlighting how universities spark growth.

Our joint report with HEPI also highlighted the annual contribution of international students to the economy, showing a £41.9bn net contribution with each parliamentary constituency £58m better off on average.

Our lobbying with others, notably the Universities Wales team, on a need for short term funding to address gaps in local innovation funding resulted in the government announcing a new £60m Regional Innovation Fund (RIF). We continue to build and share evidence on the impact of RIF and other funding streams such as HEIF, and continue to work closely with UKRI and other funders across the devolved administrations.

We closely engaged with HMT on the review of university spinouts and meet regularly with Research England and UKRI to support and influence the implementation of its recommendations.

Our jobs of the future campaign work highlighted how universities were central to delivering future skills needs and findings have been central to briefings with stakeholders and political influencers on the impact of HE.

We engaged with the NHS and wider stakeholders to ensure the role of universities was clear in the NHS long-term workforce plan and published research with Nuffield Trust into how greater financial support is needed to meet the ambitious targets. Our manifesto also sets out how universities and government can ensure the future needs of the teaching workforce can also be met.

We have continued to work closely with DfE, SLC and OfS to influence the introduction of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement.

Key publications

Ground-breaking discoveries

In September 2023, after years of lobbying by Universities UK and UUKi, the UK’s association to Horizon Europe was announced. Since then, we have been working to ensure that the UK’s participation in the programme, including developing asks to share with potential funders.

We also secured confirmation of International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF) ODA funding allocation and have worked closely with DSIT and partner organisations on developing the strategy for ISPF and its delivery.

We continued to make a case for the importance of a longer-term sustainable R&D system, engaging with UKRI, DSIT, ministers and shadow ministers, supporting an APPUG on discovery research, and developing shared messages on the evidence of R&D contributions.

With input from members and our policy network, we have shaped development of the next iteration of the REF, including on people, culture and environment indicators and through the consultation on Open Access. We also supported and fed into the Bureaucracy Review, Landscape Review and the Science and Technology Framework.

Key publications

Building pride in our universities

Against a tricky political backdrop, we worked hard to change the public narrative about our universities for the better, championing our members at every opportunity and responding with well-evidenced rebuttals where criticisms in the media or by political stakeholders were unfounded. Our reactive media work has led to over 4,000 mentions across online and print media over the course of a year. This reactive work was complemented by our campaigns including the economic impact campaign, value of university, powering the NHS, and 100 faces frst in family which drove positive messaging in print and social media and among stakeholders.

Through our events programme, member engagement and range of webinars, we have convened our members, providing a forum for them to identify priorities for improvement. We have also supported our member to actively respond to other challenges, such as secure international collaboration and emerging issues in the international environment.

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We provided extensive support for members on Israel-Gaza, helping them learn from each other in order to support a sector-wide response to uphold the reputation of the sector. We convened regular calls to share best practice on maintaining campus cohesion and to develop sector responses, and created a repository of resources for members to draw from.

Key publications

Transfer of USS employer representative responsibility

This was the last year in which Universities UK held the role of the USS employer’s representative. From 1 August 2024 this role will be fulfilled by the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA). The Universities UK board started considering whether Universities UK was the best placed to carry out this role in 2019, and after discussions with stakeholders agreed to pursue a conversation with UCEA to take on this work so all pay and reward work for the sector sat in one organisation. Work to transfer this responsibility has been taking place over the last two years with engagement with all USS employers, development of a sustainable funding model for the work and the necessary rules changes for USS. The existing Universities UK pensions team transferred to UCEA on 1 August 2024 so there was seamless transition for USS employers.

Activities for members - Universities Scotland

Universities Scotland represents the Principals and Directors of Scotland’s 19 higher education institutions, developing higher education policy and campaigning on issues where members have a shared interest. Universities Scotland achieved outcomes for members across a range of fronts in 2023–24.

Campaigns

We launched the 40 Faces widening access campaign, with participation from all 19 members, to feature the student voice, demonstrate the sector’s continued commitment to the access agenda and to proactively highlight the increasing challenges in achieving the 2030 access targets.

Reform

We have influenced Scottish Government on the focus and prioritisation of reform actions. The publication in June 2024 of a formal consultation on reform of the architecture of the post school funding body will be a key focus for work in the coming months.

Funding

We submitted our case to the Scottish Government’s 2024-25 budget process, Opportunity and Growth in a Time of Challenge. In the context of a budget outcome where many unprotected areas of spend saw pressure on their budgets, the sector saw a good outcome (4.75% cash terms increase) for capital funding, including the SFC’s Research Excellence Grant.

The outcome for the Funding Council’s resource budget was challenging (a 2.8% cash terms cut). Universities Scotland engaged closely with both Scottish Government and the SFC to consider options for making cuts in ways that will result in the least damage to the sector.

We campaigned for and received the Barnett consequential from Regional Innovation Funding, worth £6 million to Scotland in 2024. We worked jointly with UCU Scotland to highlight the impact of the increased employers’ contribution to STPS to Scottish Government and to ask for continued financial support.

International

We advocated for Scottish Government to publish an International Education Strategy (IES). The IES was published in February 2024, formed through collaboration that has continued, with US and members playing key roles in shaping delivery.

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We successfully negotiated a 900% increase in the Scottish Government destination marketing allocation (from £40K to £400K), influencing how that funding will be spent and securing sector leadership in delivery. We also secured strategic funding from SFC (£80K) to support the international policy officer post at Universities Scotland.

We supported Scottish Government with development of the Scottish Education Exchange Programme (SEEP) Test and Learn Project and provided sector representation and feedback during both development and delivery and in the design of the project’s second year.

We continue to support promotion of Scottish HE internationally including:

Connected Scotland

We expanded and strengthened the Connected Scotland (CS) partnership. We worked closely with universities, Brand Scotland, and other CS partners to promote Scottish higher education overseas under the ‘Scotland is Now’ brand.

We co-hosted additional events in Edinburgh (British Council Going Global Reception, Study UK Scholars event) and London (Attaches reception to promote Scottish HE). We worked with Scottish Government and the Deputy First Minister to promote Scottish HE in Paris. The model of cross-government and sector working was highlighted as a case study in the IES.

Learning and Teaching

We commissioned and published data to reinforce the career success of graduates. Based on polling data from Scottish graduates and CEOs, the data found that 84.5% of Scottish graduates credit their university with helping them gain employment.

Research

We facilitated early engagement for the Scottish sector with the Advanced Research and Innovation Agency (ARIA), including a webinar and engagement through our Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee (RKEC) with CEO Ilan Gur, highlighting differences in devolved funding for research.

We instigated and facilitated a series of discussions on Security and Trusted Research which led to a sector group being formed to share best practice and develop key messages for Scottish Government regarding research security.

Following the announcement that the UK would associate to Horizon Europe, we hosted a sector discussion with EU Commissioner Iliana Ivanova on boosting Horizon Europe participation. We have also fed into the UUKi position on FP10 and held sector discussion on a Scottish FP10 position for advocacy.

We facilitated a Scottish sectoral response to the consultation on the People, Culture and Environment component of REF2029.

Innovation

Building on previous work with the Government’s Economy Directorate to centre the role of universities in the innovation eco-system, we worked with Scottish Government to highlight challenges in retaining spin-outs and start-ups in Scotland and influence early implementation of the National Innovation Strategy. We also facilitated member engagement with the Scottish Funding Council on the evolution of the Knowledge Exchange and Innovation Fund to the University Innovation Fund.

Medical School Board

We supported the Board’s efforts to increase medical school applications from Scottish domiciled students by supporting the Establishment of a Short Life Working Group on medical schools’ admissions and improving data collection processes to enable clearer trend analysis.

Political and parliamentary engagement

Following dialogue with the First Minister in the summer of 2023 we have pursued ‘Cross Cabinet Conversations’ across the portfolios of Cabinet Secretaries. We have held one formal engagement on the ‘economy’ in February 2024 and have health and creative economy conversations planned for autumn.

We have met with the Deputy First Minister, Economy Secretary, Education Secretary and HE Minister over the course of the year, including hosting the Higher Education Minister at a roundtable with universities on career education and graduate skills development. We have also supported Scottish Government roundtables on widening access and skills planning.

We have worked with opposition parties in Holyrood and the Scottish media to ensure continued focus on the underfunding of HE and the need for a solution. This is a narrative that is increasing in prominence.

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We mobilised stakeholder and media coverage in support of the Graduate Route, including business figures and the Scottish Cities Alliance, the Scottish Government and SNP Westminster Group in light of the Migration Advisory Committee review. This aligned to the broader approach of UUKi.

We launched a General Election Manifesto for Scottish HE and hosted the Labour Shadow Universities Minister for a roundtable in Glasgow in March 2024. We briefed parliamentarians on the Education Committee as part of post and pre-budget scrutiny in January/February and again in June.

We held four Cross Party Groups in Parliament on the subjects of reform and the views of the college and university sector on the Withers report, the opportunities and challenges within AI, immigration policy, and the legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic on the student experience.

We briefed the Scottish Government on the financial impact of the fall in international student numbers from November 2023 through to June 2024.

Scotland’s Covid Inquiry

We supported the sector’s initial engagement with the Inquiry, setting up exploratory roundtables with Inquiry representatives and submitting information that summarised the events and experience of the sector through the period of the pandemic.

Organisational

We successfully supported the change in leadership at Universities Scotland, with our new Director taking up post in March 2024.

Activities for members - Universities Wales

In 2023–24, Universities Wales focused on two critical priorities: the financial sustainability of Welsh universities and tackling the decline in participation in Wales.

Our advocacy led to widespread press coverage of our financial challenges, a series of engagements with government, and influenced the fee increase which brought Wales into alignment with England. In addition to our influencing activity, we also commissioned work to explore possible areas of collaboration and business transformation in the sector. This work has informed discussions with universities on what can be taken forward.

Universities Wales’ analysis on the participation challenge across post-compulsory education and training also led to the Welsh Government identifying participation as one of the key education priorities. Continuing to work and campaign on this area will be a key priority in 2024–25.

A long-standing area of work for Universities Wales has been the establishment of our new regulator and funder: Medr. Across 2023–24, we have responded to new regulations, undertaken wide-spread engagement with the new team and identified our priorities and collective vision for the new organisation.

Our ongoing ‘Transforming Lives’ campaign, rolled out in 2023–24 and showcasing inspiring stories of people whose lives were changed by university, will continue to highlight the power of higher education.

Global Wales has seen some significant achievements amidst fundamental changes to the structure of the programme due to Welsh Government budget cuts.

Across priority countries India, USA, Canada, Vietnam, France and Germany, activities included 3 MOUs between international and Welsh organisations; the awarding of 21 partnership grants and 36 Global Wales funded scholarships. Four outward delegations and 3 inward visits were organised, alongside welcoming 50 high school advisors to Wales. Global Wales was joined by Welsh institutions at 11 overseas student recruitment events, two major HE conferences and one FE conference, exhibiting under the Study in Wales brand. Meanwhile, Study in Wales paid marketing campaigns achieved over 400m impressions, 6.2m web clicks and over 89,000 clicks to universities.

Universities Wales is currently undertaking a project to scope and provide recommendations for a future approach to international tertiary education and research in Wales under Medr, Wales’ new Commission for Tertiary Education and Research.

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Universities Wales has continued to deliver the Wales Innovation Network (WIN) in 2023–24, funded by HEFCW and member subscriptions. The programme aims to facilitate collaboration between Welsh universities to increase the grant capture and impact of Welsh universities’ research and innovation.

WIN continues to run five networks across key thematic areas to support the building collaborative, impactful R&I projects. Networks include the AllWales Policing Academic Collaboration, which has facilitated projects with a focus on violence against women and girls, with research outputs feeding into policing practice. The Welsh Arts and Humanities Alliance has formed to champion arts and humanities research across Wales and has concentrated on PGR provision.

To further support collaboration, WIN awarded 16 small grants to seed-fund collaborative R&I projects. This follows on the success of the first year of small grants funding, run in 2022–23 in partnership with Global Wales. By the end of the funding period, the grants had generated over £9,000,000 in grant applications.

WIN continues to support Welsh universities to explore collaborative opportunities. In partnership with the National Centre for Universities and Business, WIN organised a workshop to explore collaborative models of research commercialisation. WIN was allocated funding by HEFCW to support coordination of research culture activity across Welsh universities.

The association of the UK to the Horizon Europe programme on 1 January 2024 is a key determinant for the work of the office in Brussels. WHEB is supporting the sector to participate in networks to (re)build relationships with EU counterparts with a view to increase participation in the EU programme. Following the success of the first call for Welsh partners to be involved in the Flemish Research Organisation Scientific Research Network scheme, we have ensured that another call is open to Welsh academics for a second year. WHEB has also played a key role in organising a session to promote COST in Wales, a major scheme for researchers to network and build consortia for proposals for funding.

WHEB continues to support the engagement of Early Career Researchers with the programme, hosting visits by academics to Brussels to learn about EU funding and related policy developments. A significant part of the output of the office has been presenting the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan for 2025-27 to each of the universities and highlighting the key orientations for the last three years and the expected impacts so that the institutions can prepare and engage with and participate in the programme.

The office is also engaged in monitoring the current discussions on the future EU programmes that will start in 2028. Various university networks, regions and member states are advocating for key elements to be included in the next research and innovation programme (FP10) and WHEB submitted a response on the Erasmus programme which will input into the development of the new education programme.

WIN has showcased Wales’s R&I strengths. Working with Secretary of State for Wales, WIN co-hosted a reception in Lancaster House to showcase Wales’s strengths to UK politicians, civil servants and funders. WIN also collaborated with Wales Higher Education Brussels (WHEB) to co-host a reception in Brussels.

Working with WIN on an event in Brussels to showcase research excellence in Welsh universities was a key activity for WHEB and was the first significant event undertaken by the office since its incorporation into Universities Wales. The event was planned as part of the St David’s Day celebrations in Brussels at the end of February and we were able to secure the presence of the First Minister for Wales who spoke at the event alongside the Flemish Representative to the EU which coincided with the Belgian presidency of the EU during the first half of 2024. Invited guests from the European Commission, European Parliament, European Technology Platforms, regions, universities and research organisations attended the event which has also led to follow up activities to strengthen Welsh collaboration with EU partners such as engagement with the European Aquaculture Technology Platform and invitations to attend other events in Brussels.

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Activities for members – Health

Medical Schools Council (MSC)

The academic year 2023–24 was marked by

continued political turmoil and marked by extensive work with the GMC around the Medical Licensing Assessment. After many years of intense work, the first live sitting of the MLA’s Applied Knowledge Test took place on 25 and 26 June 2024 for those schools which take written finals in the penultimate year.

Aim 1: To be the authoritative voice of UK medical schools

The statutory education bodies in the four countries {NHS England Workforce Training and Education (NHSE WT&E), NHS Education Scotland (NES), Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) and the Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency (NIMDTA)} recognise that MSC is the body with which they must engage for the collective views of the UK’s medical schools. MSC convened a meeting of senior stakeholders in September 2023 to analyse the steps that would be required throughout the system to make a success of the Long Term Workforce Plan. Geary, McKee and Petty-Saphon, British Medical Journal 2024 1-10 summarises the findings in the paper: Mind the Implementation gap: a systems analysis of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan . Intensive work has continued throughout the year to enhance the likelihood of successful expansion of medical student numbers and to identify potential pitfalls.

MSC plays a central role in the interdepartmental liaison group HENSE – the Health Education National Strategic Exchange. The CEO also attends the Scottish Medical Schools Board. Over the course of 2023–24, the MSC Secretariat worked closely with the Scottish medical schools to analyse the domicile of Scottish applicants and to determine where they choose to work after their medical degrees.

Aim 2: To maintain the world-class quality of UK medical education

Innovation which improves the quality of medical education and thus improves patient care – has long been recognised globally as a strength of the UK system. The MSC initiative to create the UK Medical Education Database (UKMED) with the GMC and other stakeholders has created the ability to undertake high quality research into, for example workforce planning and different educational initiatives – such as widening access. MSC has long espoused sharing experience as the most effective method to raise quality. It actively pursues this agenda through the multiple activities of its Education leads, its Selection Alliance, Assessment Alliance and EDI Alliance.

Aim 3: To be a global leader in medical assessment

Assessment drives learning – but the assessments themselves need to be reliable with both face and construct validity and need to discriminate accurately between able and less able students. Assessments should result in the smallest possible number of false negatives and false positives at the pass/fail border. The most significant change in medical education for decades was the decision by UK medical schools to set and administer a national exam – the Medical School Applied Knowledge Test (AKT), regulated by the GMC.

MSC also works with the British Pharmacological Society to set and deliver the Prescribing Safety Assessment . Securing a sustainable future for the PSA is a current priority and it is hoped that progress will be made in the next academic year. It is also intended that clarity will be provided to demonstrate topics which are covered in the PSA but not in the Medical Licensing Assessment.

Aim 4: To focus on Widening participation, Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity and to enhance clinical leadership and develop leaders within medical schools

The MSC Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Alliance (MSC EDIA) was set up in 2020 to take forward the MSC’s work on EDI which is an important strategic focus for the organisation. In 2023–24 the MSC EDIA has further developed its strategic focus and the group is now starting to produce tangible outputs.

Aim 5: To maintain and build on the close relationship between universities and the NHS The MSC secretariat currently supports the University Hospital Association and so staff are ideally placed to maximise the usefulness of their understanding of different issues from the perspectives of both the NHS and Higher Education. However from 2025 it is anticipated that UHA will be supported by NHS Providers and not MSC with the intention of raising the profile of the organisation. UHA is keen to maintain links with the Deans and to ensure that NHS Providers becomes well briefed on issues of importance to medical schools.

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Aim 6: To explore the public’s needs of doctors, the number required and the changing role of the doctor in the future of healthcare

The Government’s long awaited Workforce Plan was published in July 2023. It recommended a doubling of medical student numbers in the next 10 years. Changes would include the creation of medical doctor apprenticeships and the possible shortening of the medical degree to 4 years. Such changes have wide ranging implications and need very careful planning as described in Aim 1 above. Work will continue in 2024–25 to articulate the future role of the doctor in an increasingly unstable world impacted by dramatically changing technologies.

Aim 7: To promote clinical academic careers and the conduct of high-quality research in medical schools

In September 2023, MSC, the GMC and the Academy of Medical Sciences sent a joint letter to the Heads and Deans of UK Medical Schools, and their associated university Vice-Chancellors. The letter served as a call to action for higher education institutions to recognise the value of clinical academics and to take collaborative steps to support and sustain this vital workforce for the benefit of patients, medical education, and society at large.

To address some of the concerns outlined in the above letter, it is vital to have access to high quality data on the clinical academic workforce. MSC has been working with UKRI, the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and the Academy of Medical Sciences to influence the next Research Excellence Framework process, which is due in 2029. The REF is the UK’s system for assessing the excellence of research in UK higher education institutions, and REF outcomes are used to inform the allocation of public funding for universities’ research.

Aim 8: To facilitate the transition between undergraduate and postgraduate environments MSC and the UK Foundation Programme Office (UKFPO) continue to work together to facilitate the transition between undergraduate and postgraduate education and training. MSC attends regular meetings of the Foundation School Directors to ensure it is up to date with what is happening in the Foundation Programme so medical schools can be informed of any changes and the CEO sits on the UK Foundation Programme Board.

MSC worked with NHSE and the UKFPO in 2023–24 to look at how the system for allocating students to their first training post in the NHS might be improved. MSC had put forward a process based on student preference that would replace the existing competitive process. A consultation received over 14,000 responses, 66% of which were in favour of the Preference Informed Allocation (PIA) scheme. PIA was used to allocate posts in 2023–24. More students were allocated their 1st and 2nd choices – however more UK students received their last choice causing a good deal of discontent. It was also realised that an element of selection would be desirable for the allocation of posts in the Specialised Foundation Programme. This is currently under development for potential use in 2025.

Aim 9: To support all aspects of medical schools’ work and add real value for members

When MSC was created in the last century it was essentially a support network for the Heads of the medical schools. With time it has metamorphosed into an organisation seeking to support all aspects of medical schools’ missions. The MSC Selection Alliance remains steadfast in its commitment to broadening access to the medical profession for applicants from all backgrounds. Throughout 2023–24, it has continuously evaluated and expanded its outreach initiatives and information dissemination efforts. Leveraging cold spot mapping, MSCSA has effectively targeted schools with historically low rates of students applying to medical school, providing them with additional support.

Aim 10: To provide a supportive network for medical school deans and their colleagues The Heads of Schools confirmed to an external review that if MSC did not exist it would have to be invented. It provides an invaluable mechanism for the resolution of issues and for supporting all members of the community for the greater good of students, staff, patients and the UK economy.

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Developing our organisation

– This was the first year of the Strategic Plan 2024 2030: A Common Cause: Thriving universities, serving society. This has seen a shift in how we work, and what we work on. The thematic areas of work such as mental health, harassment and concordats have been passed to partner organisations who are experts in these areas allowing Universities UK to focus resources on the significant issues impacting the sector. In the Autumn of 2023, we did restructure our staff group to be in a better position to deliver on the strategic ambitions.

Our operational support services functions (IT, HR, Facilities and Finance) continued to create the work environment, processes, systems and structures to support our colleagues to focus on their work. We launched a strategic review of our pay and reward structures, rolled out a recruitment tool kit, reviewed and developed the security infrastructure for IT services, developed and launched a ‘comms hub’ for institutions to share good practice and redeveloped our members areas of the website.

As part of our strategy to develop closer links to the communities we operate in, we have partnered with Camden Giving in London, and carried out fundraising activities including a quiz night and staff participating in challenge events raising funds for the local charity.

In June 2024, we ran our annual member survey to collect views from members on the organisation and ensure we are meeting the ambitions of our strategic plan. Results this year showed continued high satisfaction with Universities UK and our offer to the membership.

109 members (77%) completed the survey and were broadly representative by region and mission group alignment. 97% of respondents said Universities UK provides value for money to its members (same as 2023), and 87% felt engaged with the work of Universities UK (up from 80% on 2023). Over 90% agreed with statements on Universities UK’s expertise, focus, agility, convening power, and connection and influence, with around three quarters agreeing that Universities UK is visionary, that our work is transparent, and that members can influence decisions.

Satisfaction with our services and communications for members (such as newsletters, monthly VC calls, members meetings etc) remained high with the majority rating them positively and all seeing slight increases on last year. Qualitative comments pointed to an improved, more focussed organisation with strong leadership and strong positive outcomes this year. It was suggested that Universities UK could be more visible in representing the full diversity of its membership though, and some pointed to future risks around maintaining sector cohesion with current financial pressures.

Given the positivity, we will not be looking to overhaul anything significantly in our member engagement but will look to make small changes where scores are slightly lower than others.

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Looking forward – our priorities for 2024–25

The coming year is arguably going to be even more important in securing our universities’ and our nations’ future. A new government presents a real opportunity for us to create a more collaborative relationship and to set a proactive and positive vision for the sector. In September 2024 we will publish our ‘ Blueprint ’ which will set out how government and universities can work together to ensure universities can deliver against the future needs of our country.

At Universities UK, we harness the power of the UK’s universities and create the conditions for them to thrive. We are the collective voice of 141 universities, bringing them together to pursue a common cause: thriving universities, serving society. This mission forms the core of our strategic plan which runs to 2030 and sets out our ambitions for the sector. Our influence, convening power, and insight will enable our universities to:

To help them achieve this we will:

Our programmes for 2024-25

Local growth and innovation – to position

university innovation and knowledge exchange as critical to local and national growth through developing policy proposals, supported by partners and business, that address key political challenges and promote ambitious solutions involving sustaining and growing the role of universities.

Domestic research – Universities use research to create groundbreaking discoveries and solutions to current and future challenges, and support the UK’s growth. We should not take this for granted. A longterm, sustainable R&D system will allow universities to maximise their potential and position the UK as a world leader in science and technology.

Opportunity and skills – empowering universities to transform lives, and make higher education accessible to everyone who can benefit. It works to make sure students thrive while at university, and progress with skills that meet individual ambitions, alongside national and local skills needs for the future.

High quality education – building trust and confidence in the quality of UK higher education and promoting a sector that provides opportunity for students and delivers good value for money, all while maintaining high standards underpinned by effective and proportionate regulation.

Financial sustainability – a sustainable, futureproof business model enabling them to deliver their missions for students, staff, communities, and economies throughout the UK.

Global competitiveness – fostering the conditions to enable universities to develop and implement their international strategies, to deliver benefits to local communities, the UK, and across the world. International HE and research activities of universities will be trusted, responsible and secure.

At Universities UK, we know that we need to develop our organisation to be:

There are also two internal programmes of work: equality, diversity and inclusion and organisation development programmes looking at people, processes and systems and equality impacts of our work. These programmes cover the following projects – development of a knowledge management strategy, review of line manager and leadership development tools, development of the road map to net zero, roll out of equality impact assessment tool and the further development of our ‘insight’ function.

We want Universities UK to be an exceptional membership organisation. We deliver with and for our members, making sure they and we have support and information we need to create thriving universities that serve society. We will do this in three ways:

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Financial review

Review of position at the end of the year

The statement of financial activities for the year is set out on page 27 and the balance sheet on page 29 of the financial statements.

Consolidated income and expenditure for the year and position at the end of the year are summarised in the table below.

Income
Expenditure
Surplus
Transfers
Net movement in funds
Funds brought forward
Funds carried forward		 Unrestricted
activities
£’000
Restricted
activities
£’000
Total
2024
£’000
Total
2023
£’000
10,728
8,400
19,128
17,082
(7,227)
(7,334)
(14,561)
(16,738)
3,501
1,066
4,567
344
13
(13)
-
-
3,514
1,053
4,567
344
1,784
3,312
5,096
4,752
5,298
4,365
9,663
5,096

A consolidated surplus of £4,567,000 is reported for the financial year ended 31 July 2024 of which £3,514,000 is unrestricted. £3,947,000 of this unrestricted surplus related to a credit movement on the pension deficit recovery plan provision and £23,000 to a credit movement on the annual leave accrual (FRS 102 adjustments). Excluding these items, there was an unrestricted deficit for the year ended 31 July 2024 of £456,000.

Unrestricted income in 2024 increased on last year to £10,728,000 (2023: £9,892,000).

Restricted income of £8,400,000 was higher than the 2023 level of £7,190,000. This income stream is variable in nature but notably in 2024 £1,600,000 was raised in relation to USS (levy and governance review) compared to £396,000 in 2023. A further increase related to Medical Schools Council activities.

The organisation’s net assets were £9,663,000 at 31 July 2024 (2023: £5,096,000). The majority of this increase in assets is due to the USS pension deficit recovery plan provision no longer being required (2023 liability: £3,946,000).

Principal funding sources

Membership subscriptions provides 64% of the unrestricted income, and the balance comes from sales of goods and services (15%), conference receipts (10%), covenant income (6%), and investment and other income (5%). This income is used principally to support charitable activities, but also the cost of charged-for goods and services. Universities UK does not fundraise from the public and is therefore not registered with the Fundraising Regulator.

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Significant events affecting financial performance and position

The high cost of utilities impacted Universities UK as a tenant with a need to make up a surplus in service charge. The external political environment created a need to find the resources to support reactive work – most notably the earlier than expected general election, the protection of the graduate route, geopolitical events such as the conflict in Israel-Gaza, and responding to attacks on the value of higher education.

Impact of material pension liability

The deficit recovery plan for the USS pension scheme first agreed in 2017 and updated following the 2020 valuation has, as a result of Financial Reporting Standard (FRS) 102, required a provision for the extra employer pension contributions required over the life of the plan. This has historically reduced reserves, though without any immediate impact on the cash position or on financial risk. In the current year, the provision has been reversed and the related credit has reduced expenditure. The impact is dealt with in more detail in relation to the effect on performance against the reserves policy.

Fixed assets

The changes to intangible and tangible fixed assets during the year are shown in notes 12 and 13 to the financial statements.

Other interests

The long leasehold interest in Woburn House is owned by CVCP Properties plc, a business set up by the membership in 1995 for the purpose of acquiring the building. CVCP Properties plc also owns a central London residential flat which is let out at commercial rates with the revenue contributing to the annual covenant to Universities UK.

Investment policy

Universities UK plans strategically over a five-year time horizon and budgets annually to expend substantially all anticipated unrestricted income, subject to retaining a prudent amount in reserves. It has no permanent endowment and provides for capital expenditure from unrestricted reserves.

The Board of Trustees does not consider that it is necessary to accumulate and invest income for the longer term. Its investment policy is therefore to retain surplus funds as cash and place them on bank deposit and treasury reserve at the best rate consistent with a prudent treasury management policy. As a result, it is not appropriate for the organisation to adopt an ethical investment policy.

Principal risks and uncertainties

The UK Board, supported by the Audit and Risk Committee which carries responsibility for risk management, keeps under review the strategic and operational risks facing the organisation and its subsidiaries together with the programmes and activities that help manage those risks effectively.

As a membership organisation, Universities UK’s principal risk is failing to respond adequately to developments in higher education policy and funding or to its members’ needs, which would risk damage to its reputation and influence and a possible loss of members and subscription revenue. Horizon scanning, member feedback mechanisms and monitoring member engagement levels are in place to minimise and mitigate this risk and other external financial and operational risks and uncertainties.

Specifically, potential policy divisions within the membership and Universities UK’s response to those are monitored via the Board, members’ meetings and the Policy Networks. Operational risks include inflationary pressures on our costs, the wellbeing of our staff with the demands on the organisation, IT systems, cyber security and the infrastructure of Woburn House, and strategies are in place to identify and mitigate those risks.

Reserves policy

The trustees have reviewed the requirements for free reserves (unrestricted reserves less any amounts designated or otherwise committed) in the light of the principal strategic and operating risks to the organisation, as outlined above. The nature and likely timing and financial impact of these risks are not considered to be either sufficiently immediate or material to warrant carrying higher reserves. Accordingly, the current target of four to six months of unrestricted expenditure is deemed appropriate as this would ensure sufficient funds are available to meet current commitments if income streams were erratic or exceptional expenditure was incurred.

Universities UK reports its results under the Charity SORP, based on revised UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (GAAP): FRS 102. This has a significant impact on free reserves as Universities UK has to provide for the present value of employer contributions to past service deficits in multi-employer defined benefit pension schemes previously accounted for solely as defined contribution schemes, and the cost of untaken staff leave. The trustees have considered the impact of this and agreed to focus on cash liquidity of assets and risk, so levels of reserves would be stated before and after the provisions required under FRS 102 (if applicable) but using levels before for any provisions for operational and decisions making purposes.

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The impact of the reporting regime has been to reduce reported unrestricted reserves by £4.1m in 2023 and to cause Universities UK’s group free reserves to be just £16,000 at this point and therefore less than the target range of months of unrestricted expenditure.

The trustees do not believe the impact of FRS 102 to be significant as most of the provision is for extra pension payments that will be made over a number of years up to 2038. Following the March 2023 USS valuation this provision is no longer required and has been removed. The remaining provision is for the cost of unused leave.

Total unrestricted reserves
Under SORP (12 X A / C)
Less: committed to fxed assets
Under Universities UK policy (12 X B / D)
Months (target)
Free reserves under SORP (A)
Less: designated funds
Add back: pension and annual leave liabilities
Reserves for Universities UK policy purposes (B)
Total unrestricted expenditure (non-designated) (C)
Exclude: pension and annual leave credits
Unrestricted expenditure for Universities UK policy purposes (D)
Months of expenditure expressed in reserves:
Performance against reserves policy		 2024
£’000
2023
£’000
5,222
1,730
(835)
(912)
(739)
(802)
3,648
16
142
4,112
3,790
4,128
5,429
7,664
3,970
305
9,399
7,969
8
0
4.8
4.0 – 6.0
6.2
4.0 – 6.0

Political and charitable donations

The company made no political donations in the year (2023: nil). During the year, charitable donations made in lieu of buying and sending hard copy Christmas cards were £600 (2023: £510).

23 O

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities

The trustees (who are also directors of Universities UK for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and the group and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company and group for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

Audit information

So far as each of the trustees at the time the Trustees’ report is approved is aware:

Auditor

On 18 November 2024 the company’s auditor changed its name from haysmacintyre LLP to HaysMac LLP.

A scheduled review of audit provision will take place in the coming year.

The Trustees’ report is approved by the trustees of the charity. The Strategic report, which forms part of the Trustees’ report, is approved by the trustees in their capacity as directors in company law of the Charity.

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and the group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Vivienne Stern MBE Chief Executive

Professor Nic Beech Treasurer

22 November 2024

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Universities UK

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Universities UK for the year ended 31 July 2024 which comprise the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities, the Charity statement of financial activities, the Consolidated Balance Sheet, the Consolidated Statement of Cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Trustees’ Report (incorporating the Strategic report). Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and the parent charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees’ Report (which incorporates the strategic report and the directors’ report).

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 and the Charity Accounts (Scotland) Regulations (as amended) require us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees for the financial statements

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 23, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the group’s and the parent charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the group or the parent charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

Based on our understanding of the group and the environment in which it operates. We considered laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the preparation of the financial statements such as the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011, income tax, payroll tax and sales tax.

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

We evaluated management’s incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls). Audit procedures performed by the engagement team included:

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006, section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an Auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

Thomas Wilson, Senior Statutory Auditor For and on behalf of HaysMac LLP, Statutory Auditor

10 Queen Street Place London EC4R 1AG

29/11/2024

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Consolidated statement of financial activities – year ended 31 July 2024

Income and expenditure
Income from:
Expenditure on:
Donations
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Charitable activities
Other trading activities
Investments
Other income
Total
Total
Net income
Transfers between funds
Net movements in funds
Total funds at 1 August 2023
Total funds at 31 July 2024		 Notes Total Funds
2024
£’000
Unrestricted
Funds
£’000
Restricted
Funds
£’000
Total Funds
2023
£’000
2
3
4
7
20
20		 629
724
16,325
14,558
1,636
1,486
529
297
9
17
629
8,178
1,553
367
1
-
8,147
83
162
8
10,728
8,400
19,128
17,082
924
750
13,637
15,988
842
6,385
82
7,252
7,227
7,334
14,561
16,738
3,501
13
1,066
(13)
4,567
-
344
-
3,514
1,784
1,053
3,312
4,567
344
5,096
4,752
5,298
4,365
9,663
5,096

All activities are continuing. There are no gains or losses other than those disclosed in the consolidated statement of financial activities.

The notes on pages 31 to 56 form part of these financial statements.

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Charity statement of financial activities for the year ended 31 July 2024

Income and expenditure
Income from:
Expenditure on:
Donations
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Charitable activities
Other trading activities
Investments
Other income
Total
Total
Net income
Net movements in funds
Total funds at 1 August 2023
Total funds at 31 July 2024		 Notes Total Funds
2024
£’000
Unrestricted
Funds
£’000
Restricted
Funds
£’000
Total Funds
2023
£’000
2
3
4
7
20		 1,262
1,411
13,700
12,219
156
106
412
224
1
17
1,262
8,178
156
353
1
-
5,522
-
59
-
9,950
5,581
15,531
13,977
74
67
11,048
13,739
74
6,384
-
4,664
6,458
4,664
11,122
13,806
3,492
917
4,409
171
3,492
1,730
917
547
4,409
171
2,277
2,106
5,222
1,464
6,686
2,277

All activities are continuing. There are no gains or losses other than those disclosed in the charity statement of financial activities.

The notes on pages 31 to 56 form part of these financial statements.

29 ©

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Balance sheets – 31 July 2024

Group Group Charity Charity Charity
Notes 2024 2023 2024 2023
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Fixed assets
Intangible fixed assets 12 78 113 74 105
Tangible fixed assets 13 239 261 160 207
Investments 14 600 600 600 600
917 974 834 912
Current assets
Debtors
- due within one year
- due after more than one year		 2,033
2,037
750
750
JE)		 2,489
2,476
750
750
IE
15 2,783 2,787 3,239 3,226
Investments – short term deposits 6,888 5,414 4,738 3,564
Cash at bank and in hand 1,930 2,561 215 809
11,601 10,762 8,192 7,599
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling
due within one year 16 (2,855) (2,999) (2,340) (2,593)
Net current assets 8,746 7,763 5,852 5,006
Total assets less current liabilities 9,663 8,737 6,686 5,918
Creditors: amounts falling due 18 - (3,641) - (3,641)
after one year
Total net assets 9,663 5,096 6,686 2,277
Funds and reserves
Restricted funds 4,365 3,312 1,464 547
Unrestricted funds 5,222 1,730 5,222 1,730
Non-charitable trading funds 76 54 - -
Total funds 20 9,663 5,096 6,686 2,277

Approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 22 November 2024. Signed on their behalf:

Vivienne Stern MBE Chief Executive

Professor Nic Beech Treasurer

Company Number: 2517018

The notes on pages 31 to 56 form part of these financial statements.

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Consolidated cash flow statement for the year ended 31 July 2024

Net income for the year
Cash fows from operating activities
Interest income
Depreciation and amortisation charges
Cash fows for investing activities
Decrease in debtors
Decrease in creditors
Interest income
Purchase of fxed assets
Net cash used in operating activities
Net cash used in investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 August
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 July
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 July is made up of:
Investments – short term deposits
Cash at bank and in hand
Total cash and cash equivalents
a Reconciliation of net expenditure to net cash fow from
operating activities
b Statement of cash fows		 Net income for the year
Cash fows from operating activities
Interest income
Depreciation and amortisation charges
Cash fows for investing activities
Decrease in debtors
Decrease in creditors
Interest income
Purchase of fxed assets
Net cash used in operating activities
Net cash used in investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 August
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 July
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 July is made up of:
Investments – short term deposits
Cash at bank and in hand
Total cash and cash equivalents
a Reconciliation of net expenditure to net cash fow from
operating activities
b Statement of cash fows		 2024
£’000
2023
£’000
(529)
(297)
4,567
344
150
129
4
931
(3,785)
(2,432)
407
(1,325)
407
(1,325)
529
297
(93)
(110)
436
187
843
(1,138)
7,975
9,113
8,818
7,975
6,888
5,414
1,930
2,561
8,818
7,975
Cash
Analysis of changes in net funds:
Investments – short term deposits
Total net funds		 At 1
August 2023
£’000		 At 31 July
2024
£’000
Cash
fows
£’000
2,561
5,414		 1,930
6,888
(631)
1,474
7,975 8,818
843

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Notes to the financial statements – year ended 31 July 2024

1. Principal accounting policies

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) – Charities SORP (FRS 102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Universities UK meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. It is a company limited by guarantee and is incorporated in the UK. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).

The consolidated financial statements incorporate the results of Universities UK and its subsidiaries, Woburn House Conference Centre Ltd, Medical Schools Council and MSC Assessment.

a. Critical accounting judgements and estimates

In preparing these financial statements, management has made judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of the charity’s accounting policies and the reported assets, liabilities, income and expenditure and the disclosures made in the financial statements. Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historic experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.

The liability in respect of the pension deficit recovery plan (if applicable) has been calculated using key assumptions concerning future payroll growth and the discount rate (see note 24).

b. Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern. The trustees have reviewed financial position, reserves levels and future plans and this has given the trustees confidence that the charity remains a going concern into the future.

c. Income

Income from donations and grants (including government grants) is recognised when there is evidence of entitlement, receipt is probable and its amount can be measured reliably.

Subscriptions are recognised over the period to which they relate.

Conference fee and other trading income is recognised on an accruals basis.

Investment income is credited in the period in which it is earned.

d. Expenditure

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs relating to that category. Where costs cannot be directly attributable to a particular heading, they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of the resource.

Direct costs, including directly attributable salaries, are allocated on the basis of time to the key strategic areas of activity.

Overheads and other salaries are allocated between activities on the bases of usage, ie the same basis as expenditure incurred directly in undertaking the activity.

Governance costs are those incurred in connection with the management of Universities UK’s assets, the organisation’s administration and compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements.

Unconditional grants payable are charged to the statement of financial activities in the year in which they are communicated to the recipient as at that time a valid expectation has been created that the grants will be paid. Conditional grants are charged on a similar basis when conditions fall outside the control of the charity. Any unpaid amounts are shown as liabilities at the balance sheet date.

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

e. Intangible and tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less depreciation. A full year’s depreciation is charged in the year of acquisition and none in the year of disposal.

Leasehold improvements assets are stated at cost less depreciation. A full year’s depreciation is charged in the year the asset is brought into use and none in the year of disposal.

The rates of depreciation are as follows:

Furniture and equipment - between four and ten years Computer equipment - over three years Website development and IT systems - over four years Leasehold improvements - over the life of the lease

Universities UK capitalisation policy is to capitalise individual assets costing over £2,500.

f. Investments

Unlisted investments held as fixed assets are stated at cost, as permitted by FRS 102.

g. Cash and cash equivalents

Surplus cash funds are held on deposit for up to a year in order to achieve a better rate of interest.

h. Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value. Liabilities are recognised on an accruals basis. Loans receivable are measured initially at fair value and are measured subsequently at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

i. Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

j. Debtors

Short term debtors are measured at transaction price, less any impairment.

k. Operating leases

Rental costs under operating leases are charged to the statement of financial activities in equal amounts over the period of the lease.

l. Employee benefits

Short term benefits

Short term benefits including holiday pay are recognised as an expense in the period in which the service is received.

Employee termination benefits

Termination benefits are accounted for on an accruals basis and in line with FRS 102.

m. Pensions

Universities UK participates in the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) and Superannuation Arrangements of the University of London (SAUL).

Both these pension schemes are defined benefit, multi-employer schemes (contracted out of the State Second Pension [S2P] up until 31 March 2016), with the assets held in separate trustee-administered funds. The funds are valued every three years by a professionally qualified independent actuary using the projected unit method, the rates of contribution payable being determined by the trustees on the advice of the actuary. In the intervening years the actuary reviews the progress of the scheme.

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Because of the mutual nature of the schemes, the schemes’ assets are not hypothecated to individual institutions and scheme-wide contribution rates are set. Universities UK is therefore exposed to actuarial risks associated with members employed at other participating employers in the schemes and is unable to identify its share of the underlying assets and liabilities of the scheme on a consistent and reasonable basis and therefore, as required by Section 28 of FRS 102 “Employee benefits”, accounts for the schemes as if they were defined contribution schemes.

As a result, the amount charged to income and expenditure through the Statement of Financial Activities represents the contributions payable to the schemes in respect of the accounting period.

Given the mutual nature of the schemes, participating employers are not expected to be liable for any other current participating employer’s obligations, but in the event of an insolvency of any participating employer within each scheme, an amount of any pension shortfall which cannot otherwise be recovered in respect of that employer, may be spread across the remaining participating employers and reflected in the next actuarial valuation.

Since Universities UK has entered into an agreement to participate in a deficit recovery plan for USS, it now also recognises a liability (if applicable) under FRS 102 for the future contributions payable that arise from this agreement to the extent that they relate to the deficit and the resulting expense in the statement of financial activities. As there was a Technical Provisions surplus at 31 March 2023, no deficit contributions were required and there is no defined benefit liability. The provision was unwound in full on 1 January 2024.

n. Universities Scotland and Universities Wales

The funds of these National Councils are included within the designated unrestricted funds of Universities UK. In line with the group reserves policy, the year end fund balances are expected to be utilised within four to six months.

2. Donations

CVCP Properties plc is a company owned by 97 higher education institutions, whose executive heads are members of Universities UK. The company owns two leasehold properties and the net profits from its activities are covenanted annually to Universities UK. Covenanted income receivable during the year from CVCP Properties plc was £628,650 (2023: £724,363). Other transactions with CVCP Properties plc are included in note 25.

Covenanted income receivable during the year from Woburn House Conference Centre was £633,540 (2023: £687,033).

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

3. Income from charitable activities

Subscriptions from membership
Subscriptions from membership
Group
Charity
Grants and contracts
Grants and contracts
Conference income
Conference income		 Total
2024
£’000
Total
2023
£’000
Restricted
Funds
£’000
Restricted
Funds
£’000
Unrestricted
Funds
£’000
Unrestricted
Funds
£’000
11,084
9,057
4,231
2,512
6,853
6,545
4,126
4,697
3,916
4,552
210
145
1,115
804
-
-
1,115
804
16,325
14,558
8,147
7,064
8,178
7,494
9,055
7,267
2,202
722
6,853
6,545
3,530
4,148
3,320
4,003
210
145
1,115
804
-
-
1,115
804
13,700
12,219
5,522
4,725
8,178
7,494

See notes 5 and 6 for further analysis.

4. Other trading activities

Trading activities relate principally to Woburn House Conference Centre Ltd, a subsidiary. They are stated net of intra-group trading.

5. Subscriptions from membership

Universities UK
Universities Scotland
Universities Wales
Medical Schools Council
Charity
MSC Assessment
Group		 Total
2024
£’000
Total
2023
£’000
Restricted
Funds
£’000
Restricted
Funds
£’000
Unrestricted
Funds
£’000
Unrestricted
Funds
£’000
7,218
5,802
1,541
409
5,677
5,393
744
744
97
97
647
647
1,093
721
564
216
529
505
1,833
9,055
1,569
7,267
196
221
1,833
2,202
1,569
722
196
221
-
6,853
-
6,545
-
-
11,084
9,057
4,231
2,512
6,853
6,545

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

6. Grants and contracts

Unrestricted Unrestricted Restricted Total Unrestricted Restricted Total
Funds Funds 2024 Funds Funds 2023
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Taith * - 2,018 2,018 - 2,256 2,256
Research England * - 533 533 - 1,110 1,110
FCDO * - 236 236 - 203 203
Higher Education Funding
Council for Wales * - 174 174 - 43 43
Scottish Funding Council * - 141 141 - 115 115
DSIT * - 88 88 - 58 58
All Party Parliamentary
University Group 44 7 51 44 15 59
Scottish Government * - 53 53 - 50 50
London Higher 50 - 50 50 - 50
UK Research and Innovation * 50 - 50 - 20 20
Conservatoires UK 15 33 48 15 31 46
Study Group UK 21 - 21 - - -
British Council * - 14 14 - 15 15
The Culture Capital Exchange 13 - 13 - - -
University of Pennsylvania 12 - 12 10 - 10
Department for the Economy * - 11 11 - 10 10
Ofce for Students * - 7 7 - 7 7
Welsh Government * - - - - 30 30
The Wellcome Trust - - - - 25 25
University of Nottingham - - - 25 - 25
Other organisations 5 5 10 1 15 16
Charity 210 3,320 3,530 145 4,003 4,148
NHS England * - 556 556 - 484 484
Department of Health & Social Care * - - - - 11 11
Other organisations - 40 40 - 54 54
Group 210 3,916 4,126 145 4,552 4,697

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

7. Total resources expended

Cost of raising funds
Cost of raising funds
Group
Charity
Charitable activities
Charitable activities
Activities for members
Activities for members
Core (see split below)
Core (see split below)
Conferences
Conferences
Medical & health
Exam delivery
Total activities for members
Total activities for members
Total resources expended
Total resources expended
Split of core activities
Group and charity
England, NI and UK-wide
International
Universities Wales
Universities Scotland
Total resources expended		 Total
2023
£’000
Support
costs
£’000
Direct
costs
£’000
Total
2024
£’000
Support
costs
£’000
Direct
costs
£’000
750
13,076
663
1,274
975
31
2,923
127
122
82
719
10,153
536
1,152
893
924
10,315
733
1,363
1,226
40
3,243
149
142
88
884
7,072
584
1,221
1,138
15,988
3,254
12,734
13,637
3,622
10,015
16,738
3,285
13,453
14,561
3,662
10,899
67
13,076
663
13
2,923
127
54
10,153
536
74
10,315
733
17
3,243
149
57
7,072
584
13,739
3,050
10,689
11,048
3,392
7,656
13,806
3,063
10,743
11,122
3,409
7,713
6,282
4,818
1,051
925
2,367
217
150
189
3,915
4,601
901
736
3,774
4,225
1,241
1,075
2,726
161
192
164
1,048
4,064
1,049
911
13,076
2,923
10,153
10,315
3,243
7,072

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

8. Support costs allocations

Trading activities: costs of
goods sold and other costs
Trading activities: costs of
goods sold and other costs
Charity
Group
Charitable activities
Charitable activities
Core
Core
Conferences
Conferences
Medical and health
Exam delivery
Total resources
Total resources		 Total
2024
£’000
Other
£’000
Finance,
HR, IT
£’000
Deprecia-
tion
£’000
Govern-
ance
£’000
Premises
£’000
40
3,243
149
142
88
2
563
26
46
-
7
1,218
56
37
19
20
119
5
6
-
5
195
9
11
20
6
1,148
53
42
49
3,662
637
1,337
150
240
1,298
17
3,243
149
2
563
26
7
1,218
56
1
119
5
1
195
9
6
1,148
53
3,409
591
1,281
125
205
1,207
Trading activities: costs of
goods sold and other costs
Trading activities: costs of
goods sold and other costs
Group
Charity
Charitable activities
Charitable activities
Core
Core
Conferences
Conferences
Medical and health
Exam delivery
Total resources
Total resources		 Total
2023
£’000
Other
£’000
Finance,
HR, IT
£’000
Deprecia-
tion
£’000
Govern-
ance
£’000
Premises
£’000
31
2,923
127
122
82
2
544
23
35
10
5
1,119
49
32
18
15
105
5
4
-
5
166
7
10
17
4
989
43
41
37
3,285
614
1,223
129
205
1,114
13
2,923
127
2
544
23
5
1,119
49
1
105
5
1
166
7
4
989
43
3,063
569
1,173
111
174
1,036

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

8. Support costs allocations continued

Governance costs are made up of the following:
Staf costs
External audit
Other professional fees
Meeting costs and expenses
Auditor’s remuneration:
Other direct costs include:
For audit services
For other services
Operating lease rentals:
Land and buildings
Ofce and equipment		 Total
2023
£’000
Total
2024
£’000
176
151
35
33
9
13
20
7
240
204
35
33
7
9
677
646
3
3

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

9. Analysis of staff costs

Total staf costs including full and part-time employees were:
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs
FRS 102 USS pension adjustment
Termination payments		 Total
2023
£’000
Total
2024
£’000
8,038
7,018
860
767
1,795
(4,037)
1,910
(489)
97
33
6,753
9,239

Movements on the USS deficit recovery plan provision (see note 24) are shown as a separate line above. The charity was no longer required to make deficit recovery contributions from 1 January 2024 and accordingly released the outstanding provision to the statement of financial activities.

The average number of employees throughout the year was:
Charitable activities
Support staf
Trading activities – Woburn House Conference Centre Ltd		 2023
no.
2024
no.
137
15
5
141
16
5
157
162

The number of employees whose emoluments exceeded £60,000 (excluding employer’s pension contributions) was 41 (2023: 35).

£60,001–£70,000
£70,001–£80,000
£80,001–£90,000
£90,001–£100,000
£100,001–£110,000
£130,001–£140,000
£140,001–£150,000
£150,001–£160,000		 2023
no.
2024
no.
16
5
8
3
1
-
2
-
16
11
8
1
2
1
1
1

The total employer pension contributions for these staff were £507,848 (2023: £552,522).

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

10. Trustees’ emoluments and emoluments of other key management personnel

No trustees received any remuneration for their services.

During the year £17,243 in travel and accommodation expenses were reimbursed to the institution of one trustee. (2023: £4,793).

The total employee benefits of the Senior Leadership Team who are considered to be key management personnel (in addition to trustees) was:

Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs		 2023
£’000
2024
£’000
765
90
165
868
96
133
1,020
1,097

The Senior Leadership comprises the Chief Executive and Directors of Policy; Strategy, Insight and Member Engagement; Universities UK International; Communications; Operations; Universities Scotland and Universities Wales.

11. Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax under Sections 466–497 of the Corporation Taxes Act 2010 as all its income is applied to charitable purposes.

12. Intangible fixed assets

Cost
At 1 August 2023
Additions
Depreciation
At 1 August 2023
Charge for year
At 31 July 2024
Net book value
At 31 July 2024
At 31 July 2023
At 31 July 2024
Website development and software		 Charity
£’000
Group
£’000
244
19
385
19
263
404
139
50
272
54
189
326
74
78
105
113

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

13. Tangible fixed assets

Cost
Depreciation
Group
At 1 August 2023
At 1 August 2023
Additions
Charge for year
Net book value
Written of
Written of
At 31 July 2024
At 31 July 2024
At 31 July 2024
At 31 July 2023
Cost
Depreciation
Charity
At 1 August 2023
At 1 August 2023
Additions
Charge for year
Net book value
Written of
Written of
At 31 July 2024
At 31 July 2024
At 31 July 2024
At 31 July 2023		 Total
£’000
Ofce
Technology
£’000
Furniture
& Equipment
£’000
Leasehold
Improvements
£’000
1,178
74
(302)
87
72
(12)
564
2
(290)
527
-
-
950
147
276
527
917
96
(302)
59
38
(12)
483
14
(290)
375
44
-
711
85
207
419
239
261
62
28
69
81
108
152
936
28
(299)
62
28
(12)
347
-
(287)
527
-
-
665
78
60
527
729
75
(299)
42
26
(12)
312
5
(287)
375
44
-
505
56
30
419
160
207
22
20
30
35
108
152

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

14. Investments held as fixed assets

CVCP Properties plc ordinary shares of £1 each
CVCP Properties plc preference shares of £1 each
Group and charity		 Total
2023
£’000
Total
2024
£’000
50
550
50
550
600
600

CVCP Properties plc is an unquoted company and the shares are stated at cost.

15. Debtors

Trade debtors
Amounts due from subsidiary undertakings
Other debtors
Prepayments and accrued income
Loan		 Charity
Group
2023
£’000
2024
£’000
2023
£’000
2024
£’000
425
892
776
383
750
429
922
676
462
750
799
-
776
462
750
763
-
676
594
750
3,226
3,239
2,787
2,783

The £750,000 loan is due for repayment within five years, and no later than 25 November 2026. The loan is secured by way of a fixed charge over the Woburn House building. Interest is payable on the loan at 3% above National Westminster Bank plc base rate.

16. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Trade creditors
Amounts due to subsidiary undertakings
Taxation and social security
Other creditors
Accruals
Deferred income		 Charity
Group
2023
£’000
2024
£’000
2023
£’000
2024
£’000
461
3
335
175
952
667
514
17
385
145
331
948
616
-
335
175
1,156
717
772
-
385
145
577
976
2,593
2,340
2,999
2,855

At the year end outstanding pension contributions amounted to £139,062 (2023: £174,546).

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

17. Deferred income

Brought forward
Released in the year
Deferred in the year
Carried forward		 Charity
Group
2023
£’000
2024
£’000
2023
£’000
2024
£’000
987
(987)
667
667
(667)
948
1,073
(1,073)
717
717
(717)
976
667
948
717
976

Deferred income comprises membership subscriptions received in advance, grant income deferred when conditions exist which prevent recognition of the income, and income received for future events and conferences.

18. Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year

Pension defcit funding payments in relation to USS
Group and charity
See note 24 for further details regarding these liabilities.		 Total
2023
£’000
Total
2024
£’000
3,641
-

19. Operating lease commitments

The group and charity have the following future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases for each of the following periods:

Land and buildings:
Land and buildings:
Within one year
Within one year
Between one and fve years
Between one and fve years
Ofce equipment:
Within one year
Between one and fve years
Group
Charity		 Total
2023
£’000
Total
2024
£’000
702
1,457
3
1
646
813
1
-
2,163
1,460
657
1,352
600
752
2,009
1,352

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

20. Movement in funds

Unrestricted funds
Group and charity
Investment fund (see note 14)
General funds
Universities Scotland /
Universities Wales (see note 1(n))
Restricted funds
Universities UK International
Ukraine Twinning
Ukraine UKRI/RE
Israel research mobility
Global Wales II + 1
Global Wales III
Vietnam Partnership
India Scholarship
Universities Wales International
Welsh Innovation Network (WIN)
WREC network
Future International
WHEB
US International
Scotland is Now
USS Pensions reform
USS Governance review
KE Concordat
Research development Concordat
Other
Charity		 At 31
July 2024
£’000
Transfers
£’000
Resources
expended
£’000
Incoming
resources
£’000
At 1 Aug
2023
£’000
600
3,883
739
-
(505)
518
-
(4,008)
(1,795)
-
8,068
1,214
600
328
802
5,222
13
(5,803)
9,282
1,730
-
-
24
-
28
106
-
10
61
137
22
19
67
40
-
-
935
-
-
15
1,464
-
-
-
-
16
-
(16)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
(515)
(236)
(69)
(88)
(66)
(1,912)
(28)
-
(2)
(496)
(3)
(31)
(163)
(118)
(98)
(663)
(2)
(48)
(58)
(68)
(4,664)
515
236
54
88
-
2,018
5
-
-
394
25
50
230
133
97
663
937
48
22
66
5,581
-
-
39
-
78
-
39
10
63
239
-
-
-
25
1
-
-
-
36
17
547

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

20. Movement in funds continued

Medical Schools Council
Medical Licensing Assessment
University Hospital Association
Dental Schools Council
Pharmacy Schools Council
Association of Dental Hospitals
Summer School
MSC Assessment
Group
Non-charitable trading funds
Group – total funds		 At 31
July 2024
£’000
Transfers
£’000
Resources
expended
£’000
Incoming
resources
£’000
At 1 Aug
2023
£’000
1,363
177
268
252
130
58
-
653
(2)
(3)
-
(1)
(1)
-
-
(6)
(638)
(986)
(58)
(117)
(83)
(38)
(511)
(239)
619
1,064
135
144
92
51
511
203
1,384
102
191
226
122
45
-
695
4,365
76
(13)
-
(7,334)
(1,424)
8,400
1,446
3,312
54
9,663
-
(14,561)
19,128
5,096

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

20. Movement in funds continued

Unrestricted funds
Group and charity
Investment fund (see note 14)
General funds
Universities Scotland /
Universities Wales (see note 1(n))
Restricted funds
Universities UK International
Ukraine Twinning
Ukraine UKRI/RE
Israel research mobility
Global Wales II
Global Wales II + 1
Global Wales III
Vietnam Partnership
World Cup
India Scholarship
Universities Wales International
Welsh Innovation Network (WIN)
US International
Scotland is Now
Pensions reform
KE Concordat
The Concordats review
Research development Concordat
Other
Charity		 At 31
July 2023
£’000
Transfers
£’000
Resources
expended
£’000
Incoming
resources
£’000
At 1 Aug
2022
£’000
600
328
802
-
(467)
479
-
(6,333)
(1,549)
-
7,335
1,197
600
(207)
675
1,730
12
(7,882)
8,532
1,068
-
-
39
-
-
78
-
39
-
10
63
239
25
1
-
-
-
36
17
547
-
-
-
-
(23)
23
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
(526)
(190)
(513)
(58)
(60)
(180)
(2,256)
(40)
(30)
-
(52)
(454)
(128)
(96)
(396)
(41)
(45)
(73)
(78)
(5,216)
526
190
552
58
-
-
2,256
-
30
-
-
216
120
97
396
40
45
109
90
4,725
-
-
-
-
83
235
-
79
-
10
115
477
33
-
-
1
-
-
5
1,038

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

20. Movement in funds continued

Medical Schools Council
Medical Licensing Assessment
University Hospital Association
Dental Schools Council
Pharmacy Schools Council
Association of Dental Hospitals
Summer School
MSC Assessment
Other
Group
Non-charitable trading funds
Group – total funds		 At 31
July 2023
£’000
Transfers
£’000
Resources
expended
£’000
Incoming
resources
£’000
At 1 Aug
2022
£’000
1,384
102
191
226
122
45
-
695
-
(3)
(3)
-
-
(1)
-
-
(5)
-
(537)
(716)
(110)
(84)
(73)
(30)
(498)
(259)
(2)
648
821
123
115
86
48
333
291
-
1,276
-
178
195
110
27
165
668
2
3,312
54
(12)
-
(7,525)
(1,331)
7,190
1,360
3,659
25
5,096
-
(16,738)
17,082
4,752

Transfers during the year between funds relate to contributions made from unrestricted monies to restricted funds for specific projects, where there are insufficient restricted funds available to meet expenditure or where the charity is committed to contributing towards projects from its own resources.

Background information on each of the restricted funds is set out below:

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

20. Movement in funds continued

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

20. Movement in funds continued

21. Allocation of net assets between funds

The net assets held for various funds are as follows:

Fixed assets
Investments
Current assets
Current liabilities
Net assets
Group total		 2024
Total
£’000
Non-charitable
trading funds
£’000
Unrestricted
funds
£’000
Restricted
funds
£’000
317
600
74
-
235
600
8
-
917
11,601
(2,855)
74
855
(853)
835
5,876
(1,489)
8
4,870
(513)
9,663
76
5,222
4,365
9,663
76
5,222
4,365
Fixed assets
Investments
Current assets
Current liabilities
Net assets
Long-term liabilities
Group total		 2023
Total
£’000
Non-charitable
trading funds
£’000
Unrestricted
funds
£’000
Restricted
funds
£’000
374
600
55
-
312
600
7
-
974
10,762
(2,999)
55
852
(853)
912
5,812
(1,353)
7
4,098
(793)
8,737
(3,641)
54
-
5,371
(3,641)
3,312
-
5,096
54
1,730
3,312

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

22. Subsidiaries

Woburn House Conference Centre Ltd

The charity owns 100% of the share capital of Woburn House Conference Centre Ltd, a company limited by shares (company number 03031467). The company is incorporated in the UK and registered at Woburn House, 20 Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9HQ.

The £2 cost of the investment has been written down to zero in the accounts of the parent company. The trading activity of Woburn House Conference Centre Ltd is the management of the conference centre and meeting rooms at Woburn House. The results and financial position of Woburn House Conference Centre Ltd are consolidated with those of Universities UK in preparing the consolidated accounts.

A summary of the trading results for the year ended 31 July 2024 and 2023, and the aggregate amount of the assets, liabilities, share capital and reserves as at 31 July of each year are shown. Audited accounts have been filed with the Registrar of Companies.

Turnover
Cost of sales
Gross proft
Administration costs
Staf costs
Operating proft
Interest receivable
Proft on ordinary activities before taxation
Taxation
Proft on ordinary activities after taxation
Gift aid payment to Universities UK
Retained proft carried forward
Proft and loss account		 Total 2024
£
Total 2023
£
1,605,874
1,473,950
(654,992)
(497,643)
950,882
976,307
(62,252)
(66,963)
(246,779)
(199,719)
641,851
709,625
13,361
6,577
655,212
716,202
-
-
655,212
716,202
(633,540)
(687,033)
21,672
29,169
Fixed assets
Current assets
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Net current assets / (liabilities)
Total net assets
Represented by:
Share capital
Proft and loss account
Balance sheet		 Total 2024
£
Total 2023
£
74,215
55,140
849,776
854,910
(847,842)
(855,573)
1,934
(663)
76,149
54,477
2
2
76,147
54,475
76,149
54,477

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

22. Subsidiaries continued

Medical Schools Council

Universities UK is also the holding member of the Medical Schools Council, a company limited by guarantee (company number 8817383) and registered with the Charity Commission (number 1155370). The company is incorporated in the UK and registered at Woburn House, 20 Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9HD.

The objects of the Medical Schools Council are to promote, encourage and develop medical schools in the UK and thereby advance education for the public benefit, in particular (but without limitation) medical education, research and training.

A summary of income and expenditure for the year to 31 July 2024 and 2023, and the aggregate amount of the assets, liabilities, share capital and reserves as at 31 July of each year are shown below. Audited accounts have been filed with the Registrar of Companies.

Unrestricted funds and free reserves at 31 July 2024 were £1.4m (2023 free reserves: £1.4m) which is equal to 26 months of unrestricted expenditure (2023: 31 months). This is in line with the organisation’s reserves policy.

Income
Expenditure
Surplus
Income and expenditure account
Assets
Liabilities
Net assets
Balance sheet		 Total 2024
£
Total 2023
£
2,615,333
2,173,550
(2,437,950)
(2,055,494)
177,383
118,056
2,843,414
2,540,695
(595,746)
(470,410)
2,247,668
2,070,285

MSC Assessment

The Medical Schools Council is the parent of MSC Assessment, a company limited by guarantee (company number 8578576) and registered with the Charity Commission (number 1153045). The company is incorporated in the UK and registered at Woburn House, 20 Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9HD.

The objects of MSC Assessment are to advance medical education for the benefit of the public including, without limitation, by the preparation, validation, accreditation, conduct and administration of any tests, examinations or other systems of assessing, evaluating and recording any aspect of medical education and training.

A summary of the income and expenditure for the year to 31 July 2024 and 2023, and the aggregate amount of the assets, liabilities, share capital and reserves as at 31 July of each year is shown below. Audited accounts have been filed with the Registrar of Companies.

Income
Expenditure
Net expenditure
Income and expenditure account
Assets
Liabilities
Net assets
Balance sheet		 26,639
Total 2024
£
Total 2023
£
203,340
291,130
(245,603)
(264,491)
(42,263)
718,450
720,222
(65,720)
(25,229)
652,730
694,993

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

23. Conduit funding

Funds received in advance b/fwd
Amount received
Amount paid out
Funds received in advance c/fwd		 2024
£
2023
£
19,921
-
201,434
4,533,396
(221,355)
(4,513,475)
-
19,921

Amounts received and dispersed to universities on behalf of the UK-Ukraine R&I Twinning Grants Scheme and MITACS for Globalink Research Internships.

Certain trustees are Vice Chancellors of institutions in receipt of grants.

24. Pension

Universities Superannuation Scheme

The latest available complete actuarial valuation of the Retirement Income Builder is at 31 March 2023 (the valuation date), which was carried out using the projected unit method.

Since the charity cannot identify its share of the USS Retirement Income Builder (defined benefit) assets and liabilities, the following disclosures reflect those relevant for those assets and liabilities as a whole.

A deficit recovery plan was put in place as part of the 2020 valuation, which required payment of 6.2% of salaries over the period 1 April 2022 until 31 March 2024, at which point the rate would increase to 6.3%. No deficit recovery plan was required under the 2023 valuation because the scheme was in surplus on a technical provisions basis. The charity was no longer required to make deficit recovery contributions from 1 January 2024 and accordingly released the outstanding provision to the statement of financial activities. (see note 18).

The 2023 valuation was the seventh valuation for the scheme under the scheme-specific funding regime introduced by the Pensions Act 2004, which requires schemes to have sufficient and appropriate assets to cover their technical provisions. At the valuation date, the value of the assets of the scheme was £73.1 billion and the value of the scheme’s technical provisions was £65.7 billion indicating a surplus of £7.1 billion and a funding ratio of 111%.

The key financial assumptions used in the 2023 valuation are set out in Statement of Funding Principles. At 31 March 2023, USS had 232,360 (2023: 223,229) members.

Superannuation Scheme of the University of London (SAUL)

SAUL’s statutory funding objective is to have sufficient and appropriate assets to meet the costs incurred by the Trustee in paying SAUL’s benefits as they fall due (the “Technical Provisions”). The Trustee adopts assumptions which, taken as a whole, are intended to be sufficiently prudent for pensions and benefits already in payment to continue to be paid and for the commitments which arise from Members’ accrued pension rights to be met.

The Technical Provisions assumptions include appropriate margins to allow for the possibility of events turning out worse than expected. However, the funding method and assumptions do not completely remove the risk that the Technical Provisions could be insufficient to provide benefits in the future.

A formal actuarial valuation of SAUL is carried out every three years by a professionally qualified and independent actuary. The last actuarial valuation was carried out with an effective date of 31 March 2023. Informal reviews of SAUL’s position, reflecting changes in market conditions, cash flow information and new accrual of benefits, are carried out between formal valuations.

The funding principles were agreed by the Trustee and employers in June 2024 and will be reviewed again at SAUL’s next formal valuation in 2026.

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

24. Pension continued

At the 31 March 2023 valuation SAUL was 105% funded on its Technical Provisions basis. As SAUL was in surplus on its Technical Provisions basis, no deficit contributions were required. The Trustee and the Employers have agreed that the ongoing Employers’ contributions wil fall from a rate of 21% of CARE salaries to 19% of CARE salaries from 1 September 2024.

At 31 March 2024, SAUL had 87,244 (2023: 81,763) members.

Group contributions for the year to 31 July 2024
Summary
Active members at 31 July 2024
Group contributions for the year to 31 July 2023
Active members at 31 July 2023		 SAUL
USS
£531,444
59
£465,791
61
£1,261,992
93
£1,459,670
86

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

25. Related party transactions

Related party transactions are disclosed for CVCP Properties plc, Advance HE, QAA, Higher Education Statistics Agency, Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, Jisc, OIA and UCEA. In October 2022, the Higher Education Statistics Agency merged with Jisc.

Universities UK owns all 550,000 preference shares in CVCP Properties plc and 50,000 (1%) of its ordinary shares. Universities UK is the original subscribing member of the other organisations and members of Universities UK contribute to governance oversight through Board membership and other involvement. Related party transactions are at arm’s length where those terms can be substantiated.

CVCP Properties plc
Advance HE
Quality Assurance Agency
HESA
UCAS
Jisc
OIA
UCEA		 As at 31 July 2024
Year ended 31 July 2024
Amounts due
to related
parties
£
Amounts due
from related
parties
£
Income from
related parties
£
Purchases from
/ payments to
related parties
£
447
-
15,000
-
-
-
-
300,924
1,387,803
1,637
295
-
7,976
12,650
-
9
690,683
8,976
1,995
-
29,760
34,351
590
19,111
1,090,290
-
15,000
-
1,819
-
-
501,369
316,371
1,410,370
785,466
1,608,478
CVCP Properties plc
Advance HE
Quality Assurance Agency
HESA
UCAS
Jisc
OIA
UCEA		 As at 31 July 2023
Year ended 31 July 2023
Amounts due
to related
parties
£
Amounts due
from related
parties
£
Income from
related parties
£
Purchases from
/ payments to
related parties
£
303
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,529,751
1,776
395
-
3,600
-
-
8,673
773,056
2,892
925
175
9,890
15,245
790
44,420
923,180
-
-
-
1,454
-
-
595
303
1,544,195
847,393
925,229

There were no other related party transactions.

26. Members

The charity is incorporated as a private company limited by guarantee having no share capital and, in accordance with the Memorandum of Association, every member is liable to contribute a sum of £1 in the event of the company being wound up. At 31 July 2024 there were 141 members (2023: 140).

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

27. Income and expenditure by fund

Income from:
Income and expenditure
Group
Donations
Charitable activities
Other trading activities
Expenditure on:
Investments
Raising funds
Other income
Charitable activities
Total
Total
Net income / (expenditure)
Transfers between funds
Net movements in funds
Total funds at 1 August
Total funds at 31 July		 Notes 2023
£’000
2024
£’000
Unrestricted
Funds		 2023
£’000
2024
£’000
Restricted
Funds		 2023
£’000
2024
£’000
Total
Funds
2
3
4		 724
629
7,494
8,178
1,425
1,553
232
17
367
1		 -
-
7,064
8,147
61
83
65
-
162
8		 724
629
14,558
16,325
1,486
1,636
297
17
529
9
9,892
10,728		 7,190
8,400		 17,082
19,128
690
8,523
842
6,385		 60
7,465
82
7,252		 750
15,988
924
13,637
7 9,213
7,227		 7,525
7,334		 16,738
14,561
679
12
3,501
13		 (335)
(12)
1,066
(13)		 344
-
4,567
-
691
1,093
3,514
1,784		 (347)
3,659
1,053
3,312		 344
4,752
4,567
5,096
1,784
5,298		 3,312
4,365		 5,096
9,663

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

27. Income and expenditure by fund continued

Income and expenditu re by fun dcontinued
Income from:
Income and expenditure
Charity
Donations
Charitable activities
Other trading activities
Expenditure on:
Investments
Raising funds
Other income
Charitable activities
Total
Total
Net income / (expenditure)
Net movements in funds
Total funds at 1 August
Total funds at 31 July		 Notes 2023
£’000
2024
£’000
Unrestricted
Funds		 2023
£’000
2024
£’000
Restricted
Funds		 2023
£’000
2024
£’000
Total
Funds
2
3
4		 1,411
1,262
7,494
8,178
106
156
224
17
353
1		 -
-
4,725
5,522
-
-
-
-
59
-		 1,411
1,262
12,219
13,700
106
156
224
17
412
1
9,252
9,950		 4,725
5,581		 13,977
15,531
67
8,523
74
6,396		 -
5,216
-
4,652		 67
13,739
74
11,048
7 8,590
6,470		 5,216
4,652		 13,806
11,122
662
3,480		 (491)
929		 171
4,409
662
1,068
3,480
1,730		 (491)
1,038
929
547		 171
2,106
4,409
2,277
1,730
5,210		 547
1,476		 2,277
6,686

57

ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

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November 2024 ISBN 978-1-84036-529-0