Select committee: Scottish Affairs Committee
Conclusion 136
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)
When we asked Minister Lochhead how much of a risk there was that the UK, and therefore Scotland, will lose influence over Horizon and benefit from its contributions going forward, he told us that was “a real concern that has been expressed by the sector”, especially as projects based in the EU may look like a “more attractive destination” for Horizon collaborations.320 Not only might the UK now look like a less attractive place for Horizon collaboration, but Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows made the point to us that UK applications for Horizon funding had decreased in recent years: While Scotland has traditionally done very well at securing competitive research funding from the EU, analysis has shown that the UK’s annual share of EU research funding has fallen by half a billion Euros since 2015 and there has been a 40% drop in UK applications to Horizon Europe. Substantial work will be needed to encourage UK researchers to take up the opportunities that association to Horizon Europe provides.321
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".