Select committee: Scottish Affairs Committee
Conclusion 108
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)
The University of Glasgow argues that Scottish universities’ global reputation for excellent research is evidenced through ‘Research Excellence Framework’ exercises and the percentage of funding won from UK research funders compared to the relative size of the research base.240 As Edinburgh University points out, Scotland gains roughly 11% of total UKRI research funding for just over 8% of the population, and Edinburgh was fifth in the Russell Group for winning EU funding.241 Professor Rebecca Lunn, University of Strathclyde, told us that Scotland is 63% ahead of the UK average in academic citations.242 Endorsing the benefits of Scottish academic research, the Scottish Funding Council told us that: [Universities] provide Scotland with a hugely important pipeline of skilled people. They also make the research breakthroughs that will solve some of the big health, social and economic challenges of our time, including covid-19. They are also very important anchor institutions in their local communities. They employ almost 60,000 staff. They generate £11 for every £1 of public investment we make, and their international reputation attracts talent and investment. They are going to help us survive and thrive through a global pandemic and help our economic recovery.243
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".