Next Steps in Leaving the European Union

Margaret Ferrier Excerpts

Monday 10th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davis]

My hon. Friend is exactly right. Indeed, the Prime Minister has already said that we will become world leaders in free trade. That is the best signal we can give that we are creating an opportunity society for business.

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (SNP)]

I was recently contacted by a constituent who is a lecturer at the University of Glasgow. Not only does she have serious concerns about the loss of EU funding for universities and colleges, but her partner is a French national who is unsure about where his future will lie, post-Brexit. Why can the Secretary of State not understand that the Government’s reluctance to outline any future plans is having a real and negative impact on many people across the UK?

[Mr Davis]

First, the Treasury has already made some underpinning promises over the summer about research funding, and they apply to Scotland, so I suggest that the hon. Lady looks carefully at that. As for the concerns of her constituent’s French partner, I have already said that we are doing this as fast as we can, consistent with our responsibilities to not only people in that position, but British citizens abroad.