Select committee: Scottish Affairs Committee
Conclusion 122
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)
Iain Stewart MP, Minister for Scotland, told us that that Scottish universities were “punching way above their weight” in terms of receipt of UKRI funding.283 He went on to say that “Scotland’s approximate share of the UK is 8% in terms of population or economic GDP, but through UKRI funding Scottish universities get 13%”.284 However, the National Audit Office report on the UKRI Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, from February 2021, found that “the Fund is unevenly spread across the UK with the majority being provided to the West Midlands, South East and London”.285 It found that only 6.5% of the funding went to Scotland, compared to 44.2%286 going to London and the South East of England.287 In relation to this the RSE Young Academy of Scotland told us that “Scotland emerges as an area which has not received the support it deserves, with historically poor success in Industrial Strategy Challenge Funds.”288
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".