Select committee: Scottish Affairs Committee
Conclusion 109
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 Secretary of State for Scotland, Rt Hon Alister Jack MP, also highlighted to us the importance of Scotland’s research base: 237 Universities Scotland, Internationally Scottish - Creating global communities (July 2020), p 12 238 “Putting Scottish science and research on the world stage”, Scottish Government, 13 June 2019 239 RSE Young Academy of Scotland (USC0006) p 5 240 University of Glasgow (USC0003) p 6 241 University of Edinburgh (USC0004) p 7 242 Q95 243 Q59 Universities and Scotland 43 Scotland has for many years batted above our weight in terms of the proportion of funded research activity that is supported here. We have been able to build on this through our work on the City Deals Programme, where a number of research proposals covering some of the key sectors underpinning the Scottish and UK economy have come forward. We are very mindful of the need to sustain this research base and that is why we have established a UK-wide Ministerial Taskforce on research sustainability.244 [ … ] Research in our HE institutions is a jewel in the UK’s higher education crown and it is right that we work together to protect this while tackling the challenges posed by covid-19.245 Effect of covid-19 on research
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".