Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answers of 12 June 2020 to Questions 56134 and 56135 on the Erasmus+ Programme, what steps he has taken to consult on the development of a domestic alternative to Erasmus+ scheme; and with whom he has held those consultations with.

In the event that the UK does not participate in the next Erasmus+ programme (2021-27), departmental officials have been preparing a UK-wide domestic alternative scheme should we need to have a contingency measure. As this scheme is still being developed and negotiations with the EU on UK participation in the Erasmus+ programme are ongoing, it is too early to set out the exact details of the scheme. However, I have discussed the development of the domestic alternative with my ministerial counterparts in the devolved administrations and hosted a roundtable in March with a range of higher education and further education stakeholders including representative and mission groups and Vice-Chancellors.

Departmental officials have also been engaging with officials in the devolved administrations as well as sector bodies and institutions through a series of roundtables and interviews so far, speaking to representatives from across the education sector in all 4 nations to understand their views and ensure that this scheme can deliver a world-leading exchange programme.