Select committee: Scottish Affairs Committee
Conclusion 58
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)
Throughout our inquiry we also heard about the non-financial benefits EU students provide to Scottish universities, including that: • EU students enrich campuses by “creating multinational, multicultural learning environments”, which is of “tremendous benefit to our home students in Scotland”.138 131 Scottish university admissions figures, Universities Scotland, 4 August 2020 132 Q140 & Q167 133 “UCAS data cause for assurance in value of Scottish higher education”, Universities Scotland, 18 February 2021 134 “UCAS data cause for assurance in value of Scottish higher education”, Universities Scotland, 18 February 2021 135 Q124 136 Scottish Parliament, The impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on university funding in Scotland (23 July 2020), p 3 137 Scottish Parliament, The impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on university funding in Scotland (23 July 2020), p 15 138 Q135 [Rachel Sandison, University of Glasgow] 26 Universities and Scotland • A significant number of EU students apply for vital science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects139 and subject areas that are very hard to recruit to from within the local Scottish ecosystem.140 • EU students stay in Scotland after their studies far more than other international students do.141 Sustaining EU student numbers post-Brexit
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".