Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Education on the financial implications for universities of delays in the processing of free visa applications for international students who have been offered places by universities to study in the UK.

The Home Office regularly engages with representatives from the education sector, including the Department for Education. This has included recent discussions on Tier 4 services during the AutumnOperationally we are currently deciding Tier 4 visa applications within published service standards.