Select committee: Scottish Affairs Committee
Recommendation 12
First Report - Universities and Scotland
Published 28 May 2021
Paragraph 138
Addressed to Scotland Office
Scottish Affairs Committee Universities and Scotland All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The Horizon programme has been, and will continue to be, vital to Scottish academic research. It aids Scotland’s universities in their quest to tackle the biggest global challenges. We praise the UK Government for ensuring the UK’s continued participation; it is an investment worth making. Concerns have however been raised about the UK’s status as a non-EU member. The UK Government should ensure that 6 Universities and Scotland the UK reaps the maximum possible benefits from Horizon Europe in areas such as health, climate and energy and is not disadvantaged as a non-EU member or inappropriately excluded from relevant programmes. In addition if, for any reason, the UK receives less in competitive grants than its financial contributions, the UK Government should explore why this might be and, if appropriate, seek to adjust its financial contribution accordingly.
From: Scottish Affairs Committee, First Report - Universities and Scotland (HC 54), paragraph 138, 28 May 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 27 April 2022 (deadline 28 July 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government's response sets out continued work with the devolved administrations and existing UK-wide policies on international students, immigration, research funding and talent, and states it will submit a response to the earlier Immigration and Scotland report "shortly".
- On the Turing Scheme, it confirmed funding for three years, including "£110 million for the 2022/23 Academic Year". It states the scheme "prioritises pupils, students and learners over staff and inward mobility funding", and says the first year's impact will be evaluated.
- On Erasmus+, it states that President Von Der Leyen "has previously confirmed that association by part of a country is not legally possible".
- On UKRI, it states that Board appointees "are not recruited to represent any constituency, sector or regional grouping", while a legal requirement to have regard to research conditions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is taken into account. It says Research England's place on the Executive Committee reflects its status as a legal component of UKRI.
- On visa costs, it states that "UK visa fees are broadly in line with our competitors" and that it will "continue to keep visa fees under review".