Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with EU officials over the 2018 parliamentary summer recess on participating in the successor programme to Erasmus+ after the UK leaves the EU.

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister explained in her Mansion House speech on 2 March that “there are many other areas where the UK and EU economies are closely linked – including education and culture. The government values international exchange and collaboration in education and training as part of its vision for a global Britain”.

As noted in the government’s white paper, the UK is open to exploring participation in the successor scheme to the current Erasmus+ Programme and we welcome the proposals for the 2021-2027 successor scheme to Erasmus+, which were published on 30 May. We are considering these carefully and officials have participated constructively in discussions on them with their counterparts, and will continue to do so while we remain in the EU.

Ultimately, UK participation in the successor programmes is a matter for negotiations to come about our future relationship with the EU.

In the meantime, as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement, we will continue to participate in Erasmus+ until 2020 and the government will underwrite Erasmus+ funding for all successful bids submitted while we are still in the EU. This arrangement is dependent on reaching an agreement with the EU, that UK organisations can continue to be eligible to participate in Erasmus+ projects.