Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made in implementing the objectives of the International Education Strategy to increase the (a) value of education exports and (b) number of international higher education students studying in the UK.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The International Education Strategy (IES) is a UK wide strategy which commits to growing the value of education exports. An update to the department’s IES was published on 26 May 2023. This is the third annual progress update to the original 2019 IES. A link to the 2023 update can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-education-strategy-2023-update.
The UK has met the IES international student ambition of 600 thousand per year by 2030 for two years running in both 2020/21 and 2021/22. The department is on track and will continue working towards the IES education export ambition of £35 billion per year by 2030 with £27.9 billion revenue in 2021. Data used to track progress against these two ambitions is published annually.
As the International Education Champion, Professor Sir Steve Smith continues to promote UK education export growth and supports ministers to engage in strategic discussions on progress on implementing the strategy with the education sector.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to (a) promote and (b) protect education exports.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The International Education Strategy (IES) is a UK wide strategy which commits to growing the value of education exports. An update to the department’s IES was published on 26 May 2023. This is the third annual progress update to the original 2019 IES. A link to the 2023 update can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-education-strategy-2023-update.
The UK has met the IES international student ambition of 600 thousand per year by 2030 for two years running in both 2020/21 and 2021/22. The department is on track and will continue working towards the IES education export ambition of £35 billion per year by 2030 with £27.9 billion revenue in 2021. Data used to track progress against these two ambitions is published annually.
As the International Education Champion, Professor Sir Steve Smith continues to promote UK education export growth and supports ministers to engage in strategic discussions on progress on implementing the strategy with the education sector.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the impact of increases in visa costs for international students and researchers on the higher education sector.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department has been successful in delivering the International Education Strategy ambition of hosting at least 600,000 students per year by 2030 for the last two years, and the government fully expects the UK to continue to be an attractive destination for international students.
We are increasing fees across a range of immigration routes, including for people coming here to live, work and study, at a time of record high migration numbers. It is the government’s policy that those who use and benefit most from the immigration system should contribute towards the cost of operating the system, reducing the burden on the UK taxpayer.
Our visa fees are competitive globally and there is little evidence that fee increases to date have significantly affected demand on work, study and tourism routes.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has taken steps with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle national security concerns arising from the work of the Confucius Institute in (a) British academia and (b) wider society.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The government continuously assesses threats posed to the UK. As a matter of longstanding policy, we are unable to release information regarding threat assessments, on the grounds of national security.
The government is clear that any challenges to our core values, whatever their origin, will not be tolerated. Departmental officials will continue to work closely with their counterparts across government to strengthen protective measures.
The National Security Bill currently before Parliament brings together vital new measures to protect our national security. The new Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) has now been added to the Bill, which has been created to tackle covert influence in the UK. The scheme is designed to strengthen the integrity of our politics and institutions, and protect the UK from state threats.
The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill will ensure that lawful freedom of speech is fully supported in English higher education (HE), regardless of where the challenge comes from. It will require and empower registered HE providers, colleges and students’ unions to push back on freedom of speech related threats from overseas. The Bill will also address concerns about the possible influence of overseas money in English HE. These new measures will help the Office for Students (OfS) understand the possible impact of overseas income on freedom of speech and academic freedom, and monitor any trends and patterns of concern. The Bill will allow the OfS to take appropriate action, including issuing penalties, if there is evidence that an HE provider has breached its freedom of speech duties.
The department continuously strengthens protective measures, and expects universities to do the same. Universities UK, with government support, continues work to increase the understanding and awareness of the threat from interference within the HE sector. A key output of this is the publication of two sets of guidelines and a set of case studies, which can be found at the following links: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/what-we-do/policy-and-research/publications/managing-risks-internationalisation, https://www.ukri.org/publications/managing-risks-in-international-research-and-innovation/ and: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/universities-uk-international/insights-and-publications/uuki-insights/case-studies-how-universities-are.
With regards to Confucius Institutes, like all similar bodies they should operate transparently, and with a full commitment to our values of openness and freedom of expression. Universities have a responsibility to ensure that any partnership with a Confucius Institute is managed appropriately, and the right due diligence is in place. The government encourages any providers with concerns to contact the government.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help counter the potential undue influence of Confucius Institutes on universities’ wider relationships with China.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The government continuously assesses threats posed to the UK. As a matter of longstanding policy, we are unable to release information regarding threat assessments, on the grounds of national security.
The government is clear that any challenges to our core values, whatever their origin, will not be tolerated. Departmental officials will continue to work closely with their counterparts across government to strengthen protective measures.
The National Security Bill currently before Parliament brings together vital new measures to protect our national security. The new Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) has now been added to the Bill, which has been created to tackle covert influence in the UK. The scheme is designed to strengthen the integrity of our politics and institutions, and protect the UK from state threats.
The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill will ensure that lawful freedom of speech is fully supported in English higher education (HE), regardless of where the challenge comes from. It will require and empower registered HE providers, colleges and students’ unions to push back on freedom of speech related threats from overseas. The Bill will also address concerns about the possible influence of overseas money in English HE. These new measures will help the Office for Students (OfS) understand the possible impact of overseas income on freedom of speech and academic freedom, and monitor any trends and patterns of concern. The Bill will allow the OfS to take appropriate action, including issuing penalties, if there is evidence that an HE provider has breached its freedom of speech duties.
The department continuously strengthens protective measures, and expects universities to do the same. Universities UK, with government support, continues work to increase the understanding and awareness of the threat from interference within the HE sector. A key output of this is the publication of two sets of guidelines and a set of case studies, which can be found at the following links: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/what-we-do/policy-and-research/publications/managing-risks-internationalisation, https://www.ukri.org/publications/managing-risks-in-international-research-and-innovation/ and: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/universities-uk-international/insights-and-publications/uuki-insights/case-studies-how-universities-are.
With regards to Confucius Institutes, like all similar bodies they should operate transparently, and with a full commitment to our values of openness and freedom of expression. Universities have a responsibility to ensure that any partnership with a Confucius Institute is managed appropriately, and the right due diligence is in place. The government encourages any providers with concerns to contact the government.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential influence of Confucius Institutes on UK universities.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The government continuously assesses threats posed to the UK. As a matter of longstanding policy, we are unable to release information regarding threat assessments, on the grounds of national security.
The government is clear that any challenges to our core values, whatever their origin, will not be tolerated. Departmental officials will continue to work closely with their counterparts across government to strengthen protective measures.
The National Security Bill currently before Parliament brings together vital new measures to protect our national security. The new Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) has now been added to the Bill, which has been created to tackle covert influence in the UK. The scheme is designed to strengthen the integrity of our politics and institutions, and protect the UK from state threats.
The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill will ensure that lawful freedom of speech is fully supported in English higher education (HE), regardless of where the challenge comes from. It will require and empower registered HE providers, colleges and students’ unions to push back on freedom of speech related threats from overseas. The Bill will also address concerns about the possible influence of overseas money in English HE. These new measures will help the Office for Students (OfS) understand the possible impact of overseas income on freedom of speech and academic freedom, and monitor any trends and patterns of concern. The Bill will allow the OfS to take appropriate action, including issuing penalties, if there is evidence that an HE provider has breached its freedom of speech duties.
The department continuously strengthens protective measures, and expects universities to do the same. Universities UK, with government support, continues work to increase the understanding and awareness of the threat from interference within the HE sector. A key output of this is the publication of two sets of guidelines and a set of case studies, which can be found at the following links: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/what-we-do/policy-and-research/publications/managing-risks-internationalisation, https://www.ukri.org/publications/managing-risks-in-international-research-and-innovation/ and: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/universities-uk-international/insights-and-publications/uuki-insights/case-studies-how-universities-are.
With regards to Confucius Institutes, like all similar bodies they should operate transparently, and with a full commitment to our values of openness and freedom of expression. Universities have a responsibility to ensure that any partnership with a Confucius Institute is managed appropriately, and the right due diligence is in place. The government encourages any providers with concerns to contact the government.