Asked by: Lord Bilimoria (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what current funding they provide for the UK Council for International Student Affairs to provide support for international students, and what assessment they have made of the sufficiency of this funding following the recent changes to immigration rules.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has provided a 3 year grant to support the work of the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) for international students in England.
The government remains committed to the ambitions set out in the International Education Strategy, including the aim to host 600,000 international students in the UK per year by 2030. The department is proud to have met this ambition two years running. The department’s offer to international students remains very competitive and the department is committed to ensuring the UK remains a destination of choice for international students from across the globe.
Universities offer a range of dedicated support to their international students before they arrive in the UK, on arrival and during their studies. Organisations such as UKCISA and the British Council continue to provide information to international students entering the UK.
Asked by: Lord Bilimoria (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of ceasing funding for the UK Council for International Student Affairs to provide international student support, following the recent changes to the student immigration rules.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government appreciates the significant economic and cultural contribution that international students make to UK higher education (HE). The department is proud to have met its international student recruitment ambition two years running.
The department’s offer to international students remains very competitive and the department is committed to ensuring the UK remains a destination of choice for the brightest and best international students from across the globe. The UK has a highly sought after HE experience, which is respected by international students. Universities are independent autonomous institutions and can offer a range of dedicated support to their international students before they arrive in the UK, on arrival and during their studies.
The changes to migration policy announced in 2023 strike the right balance between acting decisively on migration while protecting the UK’s position as a world-leader in HE.