Select committee: Scottish Affairs Committee
Recommendation 79
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 ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
Our predecessor Committee’s Report from July 2018 on Immigration and Scotland found that: The UK and Scottish Governments both recognise the importance of reflecting Scottish interests in immigration policy, but it appears that current mechanisms do not adequately enable this to happen. We recommend that the UK Government reviews how the Scotland specific shortage occupation list is agreed, including considering having a Scottish representative involved in the decision-making process. We also recommend that the UK Government reviews how it engages with the devolved administrations on areas of policy—such as immigration—which are reserved but of clear importance to the devolved administrations.191 Government departments should usually respond to select committee reports within two months of publication.192 Approaching three years after publication, we are still awaiting a response.
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".