Higher Education Today – January 2026

Welcome to the winter edition of Higher Education Today, looking at current topics and questions facing higher education.

In each edition, we feature content from key members of our Higher Education legal and regulatory team. If you would like further details about these individuals or information about the wider Higher Education Team, please see our Higher Education Brochure.

This edition is our annual horizon scanning edition and we are delighted that core members of our Higher Education team have shared with HE Today their predictions for key higher education trends, as well as considering what challenges and opportunities may lie ahead for higher education institutions in 2026.

We’ll also we hosting our higher education spring webinar series in March. Sign up for our Higher Education quarterly newsletter and bi-annual webinar series.

We hope you find the newsletter interesting and helpful.

Ashley Norman
Department Head for Higher Education

Our Higher Education team share their 2026 predictions for the sector

Siobhan Mulrey, Employment Legal Director, highlights some areas to watch for HE HR specialists

Looking ahead to 2026, universities in the UK face a complex and potentially volatile employment relations landscape, driven by the intersection of new legislation and persistent sector-wide pressures. The most significant statutory change will be the full implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025, which introduces the most significant reform of employment rights in a generation.  The reforms are being phased in during 2026 and 2027 and include significant changes regarding unfair dismissal, flexible working, predictable working hours, harassment protection, enhanced family-friendly rights and trade union rights. For HE institutions, this will necessitate comprehensive contract and policy reviews, manager training and system and process updates to ensure compliance.

These operational challenges will unfold against a backdrop of heightened tensions concerning the freedom of speech duties under the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023. Universities will need to navigate the delicate balance between their statutory obligation to protect lawful speech and their existing duties to ensure a safe, inclusive environment for staff and students. (See further details on this in our regulatory and student-related issues by Sarah Burton below). This is likely to crystallise in difficult employment scenarios, such as managing disciplinary processes involving academic staff over controversial expressions, or handling grievances from staff who feel targeted by speech occurring on campus. Furthermore, these issues, especially cutting jobs, as highlighted in Times Higher Education, risk becoming flashpoints for industrial action. We anticipate that disputes over pay, job security, workload, and the practical application of freedom of speech principles could converge, leading to a sustained period of strike action and marking 2026 as a year of significant industrial relations challenge for the sector.

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Sarah Orchard, Senior Associate in our Property Team, comments on the impact of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 for the higher education sector

The implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 which comes into force on 1 May 2026, while will not directly impact on Purpose Built Student Accommodation (this remaining exempt under the Housing Act 1988), it will have a considerable impact on the private-rented student market. New in terms of restrictions, such as not being able to pay more than one month’s on rent in advance and the abolition of fixed term tenancies, means that both landlords and students will face significant adjustments in relation to the way that those tenancies are managed. This will result in challenges for students renting in the private sector given the complexities of the legislation and may, over time, lead to reductions in the supply of such accommodation for students.  Universities and student unions with also in house student accommodation teams who may regularly advise their students on such issues and work closely with landlords in the sector will need to ensure they are up to date with the new regime.

Universities with private residential portfolios will be directly impacted by the changes and therefore should be taking urgent steps to review their new obligations under the new Act to ensure compliance.

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Sarah Burton, Legal Director in our Higher Education Team, comments on regulatory and student-related issues for HEIs in the year ahead

2025 saw the introduction of new initial conditions and registration requirements from the OfS. These changes were aimed at improving governance, treating students fairly and financial sustainability. The OfS is still working through the backlog of applications having reopened the application process on 28 August 2025 following a pause in December 2024. The new conditions apply to applications made since the process reopened and so we anticipate this rolling into 2026.

Also in August 2025, the DfE published a policy paper on the use of generative artificial intelligence in education. The paper confirmed the potential of AI to transform education by freeing up teaching time but the legal risks of the use of AI in teaching should give higher education providers reason to act with caution. 

After a period of uncertainty about its future, on 1 August 2025 the government brought into force some of the provisions of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 including:

• the provisions to strengthen the core free speech duties on providers, including a ban on non-disclosure agreements in cases of bullying, harassment, and sexual abuse or misconduct
• the duty on providers to put in place codes of practice setting out how they will discharge these duties
• the duty on the OfS to promote the importance of freedom of speech

The OfS guidance on freedom of speech also came into effect from 1 August 2025. This guidance gives providers examples of how to approach scenarios where their new duties to protect free speech are engaged including in tricky areas such as those where there may seem to be clash with other duties such as Equality Act 2010 requirements.  We anticipate this as an area that may generate legal challenges as a result.

Looking to the future, there are still provisions of the Act which remain to be implemented. Most relevantly, provisions relating to the OfS’s complaints scheme and their powers to put in place conditions of registration on compliance with free speech duties are still waiting to be amended and brought into force.

Looking further ahead, higher education providers will now be considering the implications of the international student levy which was announced in the Autumn Budget 2025. The levy is a flat fee of £925 per international student per year of study and it is to be paid by universities and colleges, not students, from the start of the 28/29 academic year. We know some clients may be concerned about the impact this may have on the numbers of students applying from overseas and how this will add to ongoing financial pressures facing the sector.

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Vicki Bowles, Partner and Barrister, specialising in information and privacy law considers the data and information law challenges for Universities in 2026

For 2026, cybersecurity remains high on the agenda, with a number of high-profile attacks having been reported on in 2026.  The UK government are keen to improve the UK’s overall resilience to attacks with the implementation of the Cybersecurity and Resilience Bill, and an off shoot of this is likely to be an increased expectation on organisations to improve their understanding of cyber risk and implement robust mitigation strategies.

AI will also continue to feature – with HEIs looking to both keep up with developments to innovate, whilst also dealing with more sophisticated uses of AI by students and threat actors. 

The Data Use and Access Act provisions will start to come into force in 2026 – making the use of data for research purposes easier, changing the rule on cookie consents, and requiring all organisations to have a data protection complaints policy and process. The complaints process is aimed at reducing the workload of the ICO, but if implemented well, it can also help with the burden on you too.

Finally, the political landscape across the globe is making international transfers more complex – with additional concerns around reputation and risk changing as situations develop. 

Learn more about data sharing in higher education from our previous webinar.

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Claire Leonard, Health and Care Partner in our Higher Education team, shares her thoughts on the impact of Hillsborough Law for university teams in 2026

The long-awaited Public Office (Accountability) Bill 2025, better known as ‘Hillsborough Law’, was finally laid before parliament on 16 September 2025. The Bill seeks to address past failures, with a focus on ensuring transparency and accountability within public bodies. 

The Bill applies to public authorities, including bodies carrying out functions of a public nature, and those who work for them. It will therefore apply to schools, further education providers, higher education providers and their staff. 

The key provisions are:

1. Duty of Candour and Assistance

For the first time, there will be a statutory duty of candour on public bodies, officials and certain private organisations to act with candour, transparency and frankness in their dealings with inquiries, inquests and investigations. The duty includes:

• A proactive duty to engage with an inquiry or investigation where they have grounds to believe its conduct may be relevant or that they hold information that is likely to be relevant; and
• A reactive duty, upon receipt of a compliance direction in a relevant inquiry/ investigation to:
  • Provide relevant information;
  • Draw attention to any information of particular significance; and
  • Set out their position on matters relevant to the inquiry in a written statement.

The duty doesn’t override other legal restrictions on disclosure such as data protection, legal privilege and other statutory exemptions. Failures to comply with this duty may result in criminal sanctions.

2. Legal Aid

The Bill seeks to enable parity of participation for members of the public in inquiries and inquests by extending non-means tested legal aid to bereaved families involved in inquests and inquiries where public authorities are involved.

3. Standards of Ethical Conduct

Public authorities will be required to take steps to embed high standards of ethical conduct through internal governance processes. They will be required to adopt and publicise codes of ethical conduct for those who work for them that align with the Nolan Principles of honesty, integrity, accountability, selflessness, openness, leadership and objectivity. Public authorities must take steps to make people aware of it, specify clear disciplinary sanctions for non-compliance and set out clear processes for whistle-blowers to raise concerns. 

4. Offence of Misleading the Public

It will become a criminal offence for a public authority or official to intentionally or recklessly mislead the public in a seriously improper way. 

In summary, for higher education providers and their staff, Hillsborough law is likely to require a cultural shift to embed candour across the organisation. In practical terms, they will need to draft a code of conduct, review wider policies and procedures, retrain staff, reconsider how they interact with students and their families following a serious incident or complaint and how they engage with any investigations which flow from those. 

To find out more about how we can help you prepare please contact Claire Leonard.

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Tijen Ahmet, Legal Director and Head of our immigration practice, comments on the immigration challenges for Universities in the year ahead

The year ahead for the Higher Education sector providers who are sponsor licence holders brings significant immigration challenges primarily driven by the new government policies, triggered by the Immigration White Paper published last year. This has led to reduced international student enrolment, increased financial pressures on institutions and uncertainty for prospective students and skilled workers. 

Restrictions on dependants for international students preventing most postgraduate level students from bringing family dependants has been a significant deterrent to potential students evidenced by the 85% drop in dependant visas. The government has also said that international students will be required to meet higher financial requirements from the 2025/26 academic year in a move that appears designed to reduce the number of international students applying to study at less prestigious universities. Under government’s plans, university sponsors will face stricter compliance tests for sponsoring foreign students and tougher tests will be accompanied by a red, amber, green review system for compliance which will be publicly available, showing how institutions are performing. In addition, Universities in England are facing uncertainty over a new government levy on international student tuition fees, which is set to begin in the 2028/29 academic year. There are growing concerns about potential financial losses and the impact on their global competitiveness. 

For skilled workers, from December 2025, the immigration skills charge for employers increased by 32% so it is increasing becoming more expensive for sponsors to recruit international talent and from 8 January 2026, the required English language level for skilled worker visas increased, which primarily affects the talent pool for employers but also impacts graduates seeking to transition to work visas. We further expect reforms to the Graduate visa route effective from January 2027 that will reduce the visa duration to 18 months from 2 years, with the aim to control migration but will risk talent loss and impacting universities financially. To prepare, universities will need to focus on operational adjustments, student and staff support, and strategic advocacy to help maintain compliance, support their international community, and manage the institutional impact of the evolving rules.

Read more about changes to the Immigration Rules.

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Nigel Bolton and Joel Eytle, both Partners in our Pensions Team, reflects on what the pensions landscape looks like for Universities in the year ahead

LGPS Valuations are showing surpluses so opportunities may exist to consolidate pension provision that didn’t exist a few years ago in relation to these types of scheme. This may be driven by changes to the LGPS procurement structure set to arrive in 2026 with the introduction of new Fair Deal which on current proposals may have impact in relation to existing outsourcings.

Separately many institutions are likely to see great pressure from their own stand-alone final salary scheme trustees  as a result of an increased focus on employer covenant stemming from the Pension Regulators  DB Funding Code OF Practice. Reviews of the covenant could increase calls for great cash commitments to be made to pension schemes in a shorter time frame.

Watch our webinar where Joel and Nigel share their thoughts and insights into the changes over the horizon for pensions in the higher education sector.

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Helen Feinson, Legal Director in our Procurement, Subsidy Control and Competition Team, reflects on the upcoming changes and challenges for Universities following the implementation of the Procurement Act 2023 in February last year

The Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023) came into force on 24 February 2025, and all (new) procurements for relevant above threshold public contracts must now comply with the requirements of the new regulatory regime.

Whilst many of the underlying concepts and requirements in the PA 2023 will be familiar to those working in the field of public procurement, there are some key differences and new obligations that Universities (and other public sector bodies) caught within the reach of the PA 2023 need to be aware of, and we continue to be called upon by clients as they get to gripes with the new requirements. 

Universities should remain mindful that the PA 2023 has widened the application of the public procurement rules to govern the full procurement lifecycle, from any pre-market engagement right through to contract management and eventual contract termination, and Universities will need to ensure they comply with these requirements across each stage. Likewise, the PA 2023 also introduced new transparency requirements, including a significantly widened range of notices which must be published at various stages of the procurement lifecycle.  

Also of note are the updated procurement thresholds which apply to all procurements that commenced on or after 1 January 2026.   Aside from the Light Touch Regime, the thresholds are actually lower, meaning that more procurements, particularly in light of inflation, will be caught by the PA 2023 than previously. Find out more here.

Managing the transition to PA 2023 has inevitably resulted in an increased administrative burden for procurement teams, with various internal documents and processes likely needing to be updated to reflect the new requirements, alongside the time and resources required to address any gaps in knowledge, however we are here to help and have produced a wealth of resources to help navigate the new procurement landscape. You can find out more here, or alternatively get in touch with Emily Heard, partner and head of public procurement at Bevan Brittan.

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Louise Mansfield, Legal Director, and Emma Hall Associate, both in our HE Health and Safety team, shared their thoughts on building safety considerations for universities in 2026

In times of financial uncertainty, it can often be tempting for budget holders to consider a reduction in health and safety provision. As tempting as that may be, it is critical that institutions ensure regulatory compliance continues and standards are maintained. Last year we referred you to making sure your estates are safe, and we warned that more regulation was to come. A year on we consider the challenges that lie ahead.

Following the deadly terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena in 2017, the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025 and is expected to come into force 24 months later.  It is known as ‘Martyn’s Law’, named after Martyn Hett, a victim of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing.  This is the government’s commitment to strengthen security at events. A regulator will be created through a new function of the Security Industry Authority (SIA), intended to support and guide those responsible for premises in meeting the requirements of this new law.  Those responsible for certain premises and events will now need to consider how they would respond to a terrorist attack.

Whist guidance is anticipated, institutions may wish to begin considering how they will meet the legislative requirements.  Generally, where it is reasonable to expect that between 200 and 799 (including staff) will be in attendance at a qualifying event, the responsible person will be required to notify the SIA and have in place, so far as is reasonably practicable, appropriate public protection procedures.  If attendance will be above 800 people, the premises will become an ‘enhanced duty premises’ and there are consequently additional requirements imposed by the Act, for example a requirement to have appropriate public protection measures that could be expected to reduce both the vulnerability of the premises or event to an act of terrorism, and the risk of physical harm being caused to individuals if an attack was to occur there or nearby.

The Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) England regulations 2025 were laid on 4 July 2025 and will come into force on 6 April 2026.  Whilst relevant to England only, they apply to buildings that contain two or more sets of domestic premises and which is either a least 18 metres above ground level or have at least 7 storeys, or is more than 11 metres in height above ground level that has simultaneous evacuation strategies in place.  The regulations are designed to improve the fire safety and evacuation of relevant residents who would have difficulties evacuating a building by themselves in the event of a fire, for example a mobility issue, sight or hearing impairment or cognitive condition. The regulations mandate emergency evacuation plans in these buildings.  Responsible persons must use reasonable endeavours to identify their relevant residents.  Those residents will be entitled to a person-centred fire risk assessment to consider their specific individual risk and ability to evacuate in the event of a fire.  Resident consent is required throughout every stage of the plans.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government has published an update to its Remediation Acceleration Plan which introduces legal deadlines requiring the remediation of unsafe cladding on residential buildings by 2029 or 2031, depending on height. Those failing to comply risk criminal sanctions, with new enforcement powers enabling government intervention. The Welsh Government has now published a summary of responses to its consultation on the next stage of its phased approach to building safety reform, which focuses largely on implementing a regime for higher-risk buildings. The summary suggests widespread support for implementing a regime that is consistent with the English building control system. 

Finally, concerns continue to grow for public safety and fire risk caused by the widespread use of unsafe, illegally modified e-bikes and scooters. There has been a surge in battery fires caused by unregulated e-bike conversion kits, low-cost batteries, and poor-quality imports. A report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling & Walking this summer made urgent recommendations including calling on online retailers to immediately withdraw unsafe e-bike items from sale and providing better police powers to seize unsafe bikes. Institutions may want to consider the safest ways for these to be stored on campuses and in their accommodation provision.

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Adrian Neale, Legal Director specialising in injury, disease and insurance disputes, comments on trends in the litigation field for the year ahead

Already in 2026, we have seen the continuation of the trend for dispute resolution being managed online. HM Courts & Tribunals Service is consulting on new draft rules for court-based online legal proceedings in civil, family and tribunal proceedings. The consultation is due to end on 16 January 2026. 

The Online Procedure Rule Committee (OPRC), wants the vast majority of civil disputes being resolved before litigation begins and civil court claims that litigate, to be managed through online dispute resolution platforms. It is anticipated that this continued migration to online platforms will likely take place hand in hand with the streamlining of court procedures and expansion of fixed costs into wider areas of litigation, thereby reducing the overall cost of litigation. 

Master of the Rolls Sir Geoffrey Voss, confirmed in a speech in December that, ‘AI is a reality now, and individuals are and will be able to use it as their agent to pursue litigation.' It is anticipated that many litigants in person will use AI as a tool to pursue legal claims. Law firms will no doubt continue to scrutinise AI’s reliability and role in litigation whilst HM Court Service will consider AI’s costs saving potential in the administration of claims.

2026 kicked off with open justice reform. On January 1, 2026, a new ‘Access to Public Domain Documents’ pilot scheme, allows the public online access to a range of documents filed in the Commercial Court and Financial Lists. The public now has online access to court documents used in open hearings which are “critical to the understanding of the hearing.” These include skeleton arguments, witness statements and expert reports. Under the scheme parties to litigation must apply to the court if they want to restrict disclosure of such documents, instead of the usual position that a non-party has to apply to the court for disclosure. HEI’s and other parties to litigation will have to consider the impact of greater public scrutiny of court documents. The pilot scheme runs until 31st December 2027 so if successful, it will probably be a couple of years at least before this is rolled out to cases more generally.

In the 2024 Abrahart v University of Bristol, the High Court found on appeal that the university had not made reasonable adjustments for its student’s known mental health illnesses, in breach of the Equality Act 2010. The court did not need to make a finding on whether the university also owed its student a common law duty of care. However, the court recognised that this is as an issue of wider significance and importance. 2026 may see further judicial scrutiny and the continuation of campaigning for the enactment of a broad statutory duty of care on the part of HEI’s towards students.

See our webinar on managing employers’ liability stress claims in higher education here.

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Say hello to us

Our Higher Education team is attending and speaking at a number of in-person and online events over the next few months, please follow the links for details. If you are also at these events, please come and say hello to us.

• Independent Higher Education - Immigration series: Surviving a UK audit – 5 February 2026 (online)
• LUPC & SUPC Conference 2026 - 25 March 2026 – Stand 17 (Liverpool)
• UHR Annual Conference 2026 - 12-14 May – (online)
• AUDE Annual Conference 2026 - 20 - 23 April 2026 – Stand 37 (Leeds)
• Independent Higher Education - Student complaints and appeals – 21 September 2026 (online)

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