Select committee: Scottish Affairs Committee
Conclusion 57
First Report - Universities and Scotland
Published 28 May 2021
Addressed to Scotland Office
Scottish Affairs Committee Universities and Scotland All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Not only are the international student rates that EU students will now be paying to Scottish universities higher than the amount Scottish universities currently receive for EU students from SAAS, but they are also higher than the rates students from other parts of the UK pay to study in Scotland. The exact rate varies by course and institution but, according to Professor Katherine Smith, will often be four to five times the rate it was previously.135 In addition to the international student fee income Scottish universities will now receive from EU students, Minister Lochhead has confirmed that the estimated £19 million of public funding that would have funded new EU entrants in 2021–22 will stay in the sector to fund places for additional Scottish students.136 This announcement has been broadly welcomed by the university sector.137 Non-financial benefits of EU students
From: Scottish Affairs Committee, First Report - Universities and Scotland (HC 54), 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".