Asked by: Lord Johnson of Marylebone (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their most recent estimate of (1) the Resource Accounting and Budgeting charge, and (2) the estimated cost to Government of their support for the student finance system, based on future loan write-offs and interest subsidies, (a) in net present-value terms, and (b) as a proportion of the initial loan outlay.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In the 2022/23 financial year, the Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) charge, which is the government subsidy on student loans, was £5.5 billion, or 27% of the £20.0 billion of loans issued that financial year.
Of student loans issued in 2023/24, the government is expected to subsidise about £5.6 billion, or:
These forecasts are subject to change. The next statistical publication on student finance forecasts, which will contain the final RAB figures for the 2023/24 financial year, will be available at the end of June 2024.
Asked by: Lord Johnson of Marylebone (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review their statistical methods regarding the inclusion of international students on postgraduate taught courses in net migration figures.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.
The Right Hon. the Lord Johnson of Marylebone
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
19 April 2024
Dear Lord Johnson,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what plans there are to review the statistical methods regarding the inclusion of international students on postgraduate taught courses in net migration figures (HL3762).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for publishing long-term international migration statistics. The most recent edition is for year-ending (YE) June 2023[1].
Net international migration accounts for a significant part of population change. Therefore, it is important that long-term international migration estimates account for those joining or leaving the UK population for all reasons, including international students (on both undergraduate and postgraduate courses). This ensures that the size of the population can be measured and the impact of migration on the economy and service requirements can be understood.
However, I recognise that there is also a user need for estimates of specific groups such as international students, as well as the need to understand the contribution of students to net international migration. Therefore, the latest long-term international migration estimates for YE June 2023 include breakdowns by reason for migration.
Alongside the latest estimates, the ONS also published an article named Reason for international migration: international students update: November 2023[2]. This presents further analysis of net migration of non-EU international students up to the YE June 2023 along with cohort analysis that provides insight on the changing behaviours of international students. This includes how long they spend studying in the UK before emigrating or, for example, transitioning onto work visas.
The ONS are continuing to develop their research in this area to provide more granular estimates, further insights on migration patterns of international students and identify priority areas for further research based on user priorities. Afurther update on this work will be published in May 2024, including estimates of international student migration for the YE December 2023.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Asked by: Lord Johnson of Marylebone (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of international students on student visas are undertaking postgraduate taught courses that can be completed in less than 12 months, and whether that proportion has increased following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office does not publish data on the proportion of student visas for postgraduate taught courses or how long people were resident in the UK on student visas.
The Home Office publishes data on sponsored study visas in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the outcomes of student visas are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the detailed entry clearance visas dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates up to the end of December 2023.
The Home Office also publishes data on how people move through the immigration system in the Migrant Journey report. The report contains information on the number of people starting a journey each year broken down by immigration route (e.g. study) and for how long they continue to hold leave. It does not contain information on how long people were resident in the UK or the level of qualification for which they were studying. The latest report covers up to the end of 2022.
Asked by: Lord Johnson of Marylebone (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many international students on student visas who complete postgraduate taught courses and leave the UK within 12 months do not subsequently return to the UK on that visa.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office does not publish data on the proportion of student visas for postgraduate taught courses or how long people were resident in the UK on student visas.
The Home Office publishes data on sponsored study visas in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the outcomes of student visas are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the detailed entry clearance visas dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates up to the end of December 2023.
The Home Office also publishes data on how people move through the immigration system in the Migrant Journey report. The report contains information on the number of people starting a journey each year broken down by immigration route (e.g. study) and for how long they continue to hold leave. It does not contain information on how long people were resident in the UK or the level of qualification for which they were studying. The latest report covers up to the end of 2022.
Asked by: Lord Johnson of Marylebone (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government why all international students on postgraduate taught courses are counted as migrants, even though a proportion of those students leave the UK after less than a year.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Long-term international migration estimates are produced by the independent Office for National Statistics (ONS). Any decision around the methodology used to estimate net migration would be for the ONS. They use the “UN-recommended definition of a long-term international migrant”, a person who moves to another country other than their own for at least a year (12 months). Students who leave the UK within one year of their arrival are not considered to be long-term migrants. In their ‘Reason for international migration, international students update’ they said:
“An international student is currently defined as someone who arrives in the UK to study and remains for a period of 12 months or more. In line with the current United Nations (UN) definition of a long-term migrant, international students are included in our estimates of long-term immigration.”
Asked by: Lord Johnson of Marylebone (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk that higher education institutions succumb to pressure from student unions to undertake boycott divestment and sanction actions in relation to their investment and procurement decisions.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government is aware that the BDS Movement has taken credit for divestments from Israeli companies carried out by universities following pressure from student campaigns. For example, the BDS Movement took credit for divestments from Israeli military suppliers by the University of Manchester in 2020 and procurement decisions by King’s College London and Southampton University. The Government is also aware of recent examples of student unions passing motions to lobby their universities to boycott and divest from Israeli companies, including for example Manchester University Student Union in 2022 and Warwick University Student Union in 2023. There are concerns that these campaigns can damage community cohesion and legitimise antisemitism. There are also examples overseas of the BDS Movement pressing universities to boycott or divest from Israeli companies for example in Norway or the United States of America. The Bill rightly applies to universities and higher education providers to prevent them succumbing to student union pressure in the future and to tackle this type of divisive activity on campuses.
Asked by: Lord Johnson of Marylebone (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are aware of any examples in the past five years of higher education institutions succumbing to pressure from student unions to undertake boycott divestment and sanction actions in relation to their investment and procurement decisions.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government is aware that the BDS Movement has taken credit for divestments from Israeli companies carried out by universities following pressure from student campaigns. For example, the BDS Movement took credit for divestments from Israeli military suppliers by the University of Manchester in 2020 and procurement decisions by King’s College London and Southampton University. The Government is also aware of recent examples of student unions passing motions to lobby their universities to boycott and divest from Israeli companies, including for example Manchester University Student Union in 2022 and Warwick University Student Union in 2023. There are concerns that these campaigns can damage community cohesion and legitimise antisemitism. There are also examples overseas of the BDS Movement pressing universities to boycott or divest from Israeli companies for example in Norway or the United States of America. The Bill rightly applies to universities and higher education providers to prevent them succumbing to student union pressure in the future and to tackle this type of divisive activity on campuses.
Asked by: Lord Johnson of Marylebone (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the bidding process for the £7 million of funding to tackle antisemitism in schools and universities, announced in the Autumn Statement.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Following the Autumn Statement announcement, the government is preparing to issue an invitation for interested organisations to tender to tackle anti-semitism in schools, colleges, and universities. The department encourages all interested organisations to consider submitting a bid in response to the invitation to tender.
Asked by: Lord Johnson of Marylebone (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures are in place to ensure that applicants have English language skills at the level of proficiency required for courses when higher education providers have discretion to assess English language ability other than by reference to the result of a Secure English Language Test.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
An application for entry clearance to the UK or permission to stay as a student must show the student meets the English language requirement as specified in Appendix English Language of the Immigration Rules.
There is a degree of flexibility for sponsors that are Higher Education Providers (HEP) with a track record of compliance to self-assess the English proficiency of their students studying at degree level or above. The HEP choose their own method to assess the English ability of such students. Where they do so, they must state on the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) the method which they have used, including, where relevant, the applicant’s English language test scores in all four components (reading, writing, speaking and listening).
Additional discretion is available to such sponsors via their ability to waive the English language requirement if the student is studying at degree level and the sponsor considers the student to be gifted. This must only be done if English language proficiency is not integral to the course of study and a pre-sessional course would be inappropriate. If a sponsor wants to waive the English language requirement for a gifted student, their academic registrar, or the institution’s equivalent, must approve this waiver. The CAS must state that the student is gifted, as well as including an explanation of why this is the case and the name and contact details of the academic registrar or equivalent.
Asked by: Lord Johnson of Marylebone (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discretion higher education institutions have to accept evidence of English language ability other than by reference to the result of an approved Secure English Language Test, for the purpose of Student Route visa applications.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
An application for entry clearance to the UK or permission to stay as a student must show the student meets the English language requirement as specified in Appendix English Language of the Immigration Rules.
There is a degree of flexibility for sponsors that are Higher Education Providers (HEP) with a track record of compliance to self-assess the English proficiency of their students studying at degree level or above. The HEP choose their own method to assess the English ability of such students. Where they do so, they must state on the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) the method which they have used, including, where relevant, the applicant’s English language test scores in all four components (reading, writing, speaking and listening).
Additional discretion is available to such sponsors via their ability to waive the English language requirement if the student is studying at degree level and the sponsor considers the student to be gifted. This must only be done if English language proficiency is not integral to the course of study and a pre-sessional course would be inappropriate. If a sponsor wants to waive the English language requirement for a gifted student, their academic registrar, or the institution’s equivalent, must approve this waiver. The CAS must state that the student is gifted, as well as including an explanation of why this is the case and the name and contact details of the academic registrar or equivalent.