Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John McNally and Damian Hinds

Monday 29th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Chris Law (Dundee West) (SNP)]

10. What assessment he has made of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on future participation in EU research programmes and staffing levels in higher education.

[The Secretary of State for Education (Damian Hinds)]

We have agreed with the EU that we will continue to benefit from EU programmes until the end of the current budget plan. We have also reached an agreement on citizens’ rights, allowing EU citizens to continue to live here broadly as now, which helps to provide certainty to current staff.

[John Mc Nally]

The Secretary of State will be aware of the comments made by Professor Andrea Nolan when she told the Select Committee on Scottish Affairs that Brexit

“will have a significant impact on the HE sector, on the staffing profile, and on the student profile, in Scotland.”

Does the Secretary of State understand those concerns, and does he agree with the convener of Universities Scotland?

[Damian Hinds]

Of course people working in the university sector in Scotland, as throughout the United Kingdom, will be thinking about the future in what will be a time of some change, but it will remain the case that the United Kingdom, including Scotland, has an exceptionally strong message to give to the world on the strength of our institutions, on the attractiveness of coming here to study and on the attractiveness of partnering with our institutions on research.