Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of China's thousand talents programme on UK national security.

UK universities are international at their core and we encourage them to collaborate with international partners. It is precisely that interconnectedness that ensures the UK higher education sector remains world-class. We are concerned by any reported attempts to interfere with the UK's world-leading higher education sector. Government continues to work with the sector to identify and mitigate the risks of interference.

To retain the UK's reputation for quality, it is important that universities are security-minded in their approach to safeguard our core values. That is why we asked Universities UK, on behalf of the sector and with Government support, to develop a programme of work to increase understanding and awareness of the threat from interference. A key output of this work was the development of guidelines for institutions which were published on 15 October 2020.

Further procedures in place to protect national security, include the Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS). This requires all international students subject to existing UK immigration permissions, who are applying to study for a postgraduate qualification in certain sensitive subjects, to apply for an ATAS certificate before they can study in the UK. ATAS relevant subjects are those which could be used to assist the development of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), their means of delivery and advanced conventional military technology programmes. We constantly assess ATAS and other Counter Proliferation tools to ensure they are fit for purpose; this includes ensuring ATAS is targeted at the right area and right level. These procedures help to protect our national security interests.

We want a mature, positive relationship with China, based on mutual respect and trust, but we are clear-sighted about the challenges. The UK is a world-leading destination for international students, and we have robust procedures in place to protect national security interests. We closely monitor any potential links between international students and foreign military organisations. Universities and individuals must comply with the law to protect the sector from exploitation.