Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with Welsh Ministers on imposing a cap on the number of English-domiciled students studying in Wales.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and I have regular meetings with Welsh ministers, and ministers from all the devolved administrations, about higher education issues. Meetings have included discussions on the development of student number controls policy.

Officials in the department also have regular meetings and discussions with their counterparts. Following the COVID-19 outbreak, we will continue to work closely with the devolved administrations on strengthening and stabilising the higher education system.

Student number controls for institutions in the devolved administrations only apply to the number of English-domiciled entrants who will be supported with their tuition fees through the Student Loans Company. The funding of English-domiciled students is not a devolved matter, and it is right and fair that this policy should apply consistently wherever they are studying in the UK.