Select committee: Scottish Affairs Committee
Conclusion 133
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 EU-UK Trade and Corporation Agreement, struck on 24 December 2020, confirms that—unlike Erasmus+—the UK would continue to participate in Horizon Europe following the end of the Transition Period. This decision was widely praised by the science and research sectors312 and those who gave evidence to us, including Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows who welcomed the decision,313 and Minister Lochhead, who said it was in “the best interests of Scotland”.314 Iain Stewart MP, Minister for Scotland, told us that: Horizon is an incredibly important scheme. [The UK Government] often get accused of taking a dogmatic approach, that if something has its origins in the EU, then it is intrinsically bad. That is absolutely not what we have done. We have taken a very pragmatic look. Projects like Horizon, which [ … ] deliver enormous benefits, we actively wanted to remain part of. That is what we have done in the [EU-UK Trade and Corporation] Agreement.315 UK influence in, and investment from, Horizon Europe
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".