Source · Select Committees · Scottish Affairs Committee
Recommendation 6
6
Not Addressed
Paragraph: 81
Scottish universities are dependent on immigration decisions made at UK-level but have limited opportunities to...
Recommendation
Scottish universities are dependent on immigration decisions made at UK-level but have limited opportunities to influence those decision-making processes. Given that the UK and Scottish Governments both recognise the importance of reflecting Scottish interests in UK immigration policies, the UK Government should submit a full formal response to our predecessor Committee’s Report of 4 July 2018 on Immigration and Scotland, which covered the immigration issues associated with international students in Scotland. It would be particularly helpful if the Government would respond to the parts of the Report which focus on issues affecting students.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government's response for this item focused on the Turing Scheme and Erasmus+ and did not address the recommendation to submit a full formal response to the predecessor Committee’s 2018 report on Immigration and Scotland.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
81
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government · verbatim extract
Not Addressed
The UK Government is absolutely committed to supporting the UK higher education sector, and to increasing the number of international students and academics that come here. This is demonstrated in the migration statistics which were recently published. In 2021, there were 432,279 Sponsored study visas granted (to both main applicants and their dependants), 89% (203,313) more than the previous year and 52% (147,558) higher than 2019. Of the 432,279 Sponsored visas granted, 13,128 (3%) were under Tier 4 rules and 419,151 (97%) were under the new Student and Child Student routes introduced on the 5th October 2020.1 1 Please note that year-on-year changes may have been impacted by changes to travel plans and patterns due to the pandemic. The number of Sponsored study visas granted in 2021, is the highest on record with the substantial increase representing both a recovery from lower numbers during the Covid-19 pandemic but also an increase on the pre-pandemic period. It is 41% higher than the previous record of 307,394 which occurred in the year ending June 2010. to ensure the UK is as attractive as possible to genuine international students. As part of these changes we launched the Student and Child Student route in October 2020 and the Graduate route in July 2021. The new routes are streamlined, simplified, and provide clearer pathways for students and graduates who want to progress through their academic career and seek employment in the UK via a skilled work route after their studies. international students across the UK during Covid-19, providing certainty to students and the sector by enabling distance and blended learning for international students until April next year; ensuring that Covid-related absences will not count against students; and ensuring reporting and compliance assessment requirements do not place unnecessary burden on sponsors whose students defer their studies, or withdraw from a course, as a result of the pandemic. We shall submit our response to the Committee’s Report on Immigration and Scotland shortly.
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