Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he plans to take to bring funding levels in the Turing Scheme to an equivalent level with Erasmus+.

The UK’s international mobility programme, the Turing Scheme, is funded by a budget of £110 million for the 2021/22 academic year. Education providers successfully applied for funding for over 41,000 individual placements for their students to study and work around the world. The government has also confirmed funding for the continuation of the Turing Scheme for the next 3 years, including £110 million for the 2022/23 academic year.

The UK is not participating in the 2021 to 2027 Erasmus+ programme. A direct comparison with overall funding for the Turing Scheme and the 2014 to 2020 Erasmus+ programme cannot be made as both programmes cover different activities and types of mobilities.

However, in terms of grant funding the Turing Scheme provides rates for providers and students that are broadly consistent with what would have been received under the 2014 to 2020 Erasmus+ Programme. To support levelling up, the Turing Scheme also goes further in some areas to provide additional support for disadvantaged students and students with special educational needs and disabilities.

Unlike Erasmus+, which was mainly EU focused, the Turing Scheme is also a truly global programme with every country in the world eligible to partner with UK education settings subject to government travel advice. For the 2021/22 academic year, providers successfully applied for mobilities to over 150 destinations worldwide.

In considering what elements to include under the Turing Scheme, the department prioritised pupils, students, and learners over staff placements to ensure that as many students as possible can benefit. This includes a focus on widening access for disadvantaged students.