Found: With regard to international students, the UK is a world-leading destination for students from overseas

Found: Ensuring focused attention was given to lessening the concerns of international students, who might

Found: easy to come in if you were a care worker or a teacher, and you still have the desire for 600,000 international

Found: Chair: I will bring in Caroline on the point of international students.

Found: Chair: I will bring in Caroline on the point of international students.

Found: and entering into an undergraduate degree, there is comparability between that for domestic and international

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the decline in international postgraduate student numbers on the UK’s economy.

Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

International students make a significant positive contribution to the British economy. According to a study by HEPI and Kaplan, the lifetime net economic benefit of the 21/22 cohort of international students was £37bn with each student making a net contribution of nearly £100,000 on average.

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) make a net migration forecast to underpin their economic and fiscal forecasts, which reflects the latest data and migration policy. At Spring Budget, the OBR assessed migration to fall more sharply than the ONS net migration projections in the short-term before it reaches 315,000 at the end of the forecast period. Rising emigration and effect of policy explain their adjustment.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help reduce cases of (a) anti-Semitism and (b) Islamophobia on university campuses.

Answered by Robert Halfon

This government condemns in the strongest possible terms any form of racial or religiously motivated harassment or violence. In the context of the conflict in the Middle East, there have been unprecedented rises in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents, which are abhorrent on every level. Universities should be welcoming and inclusive environments and higher education (HE) providers have a responsibility to take a zero tolerance approach to any form of racial or religious harassment. They have clear responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to adopt robust policies and procedures that enable them to investigate and swiftly address reports of racism.

The Community Security Trust has reported an unprecedented rise in antisemitic incidents, which is totally unacceptable.

To support Jewish students, the Secretary of State for Education and I wrote to all universities on 11 October 2023, urging them to respond swiftly to hate-related incidents and actively reassure Jewish students that they can study without fear of harassment or intimidation. I wrote again to Vice Chancellors on 16 November 2023, emphasising that they must use disciplinary measures wherever appropriate, highlighting the importance of police engagement, and reiterating that student visas could be suspended where a foreign national is found to have committed or incited acts of racial hatred. This was one of the key actions set out in the five-point plan for tackling antisemitism in HE, which was published on 5 November 2023. The plan also involves:

• ​Calling for visas to be withdrawn from international students who incite racial hatred. Visas are a privilege, not a right, and the government will not hesitate to remove them from people who abuse them.
• ​Logging specific cases and sharing them with the Office for Students for their consideration.
• ​Continuing to make it clear in all discussions that acts that may be criminal should be referred to the police.
• ​Establishing a Tackling Antisemitism Quality Seal which will be an award available to universities who can demonstrate the highest standards in tackling antisemitism.

On 22 November 2023, the government announced in the Autumn Statement an additional £7 million over three years to tackle antisemitism in education. The Quality Seal will be the cornerstone of this package for universities, providing a framework of measures that will make clear what good practice is in tackling antisemitism in HE, and making sure that universities are a safe and welcoming space for Jewish students and staff, as for all students and staff.

Anti-Muslim hatred is equally abhorrent and has no place in our society. No one should ever be a victim of hatred because of their religion or belief and the government is continuing to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat it.

This government is proud to have funded Tell MAMA, a service that supports victims of anti-Muslim hatred, with over £6 million since their inception in 2012. Tell MAMA’s work has been recognised internationally as a good practice model in recording and monitoring anti-Muslim hate. The organisation has documented 2,010 Islamophobic incidents in the UK between 7 October 2023 and 7 February 2024. This represents a steep rise from the 600 it recorded for the same period the year previously. The government will not tolerate religious hatred towards Muslims and that is why the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities put in place an extra £4.9 million of protective security funding for Muslim mosques, faith schools and communities.

The new Protective Security for Mosques Scheme provides physical protective security measures (such as CCTV, intruder alarms and secure perimeter fencing) in both mosques and associated Muslim faith community centres. Protective security measures are also available to Muslim faith schools. Headteachers of eligible schools were contacted directly by the Home Office in January 2023 to register their interest.

Lastly, as my right hon. Friend, Minister Buchan stated on 4 March 2024, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities plan to appoint a new independent adviser on anti-Muslim hatred, and it will update the house shortly.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the impact of trends in the number of international students on higher education institutions.

Answered by Robert Halfon

The government keeps under review the number of international students attending our universities.

The government is proud of the UK’s world class higher education (HE) sector and recognises the contribution made by international students to our universities. The department is proud to have met its international student recruitment ambition, as set out in the International Education Strategy in each of the past two years.

The Office for Students (OfS), as the independent regulator of HE in England, is responsible for monitoring and reporting on the sustainability of HE providers. The department works closely with the OfS to understand the impact of international student recruitment.​

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the level of UK investment generated by the GREAT campaign since its re-launch in 2021.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland campaign is the UK’s international brand marketing campaign, which works closely with UK businesses, not-for-profit organisations and high-profile figures to promote the best of the UK abroad. Since 2021/22, the GREAT campaign has had an annual overall budget of circa £60m (2021/22: £60m; 2022/23: £57.12m; and 2023/24: £57.12m). The results of individual GREAT campaigns vary but, on average, externally verified analysis shows £1 of GREAT spend on marketing generates £15 for the UK by encouraging people to visit, study, trade, invest, live and work in the UK.

Encouraging prospective international students to choose to study in UK higher education institutions brings strong return on investment. For example, the GREAT Study UK campaign generated £407m in 2021/22 and £548m in 2022/23 (specifically from international students studying for up to three years in the UK). The 2023/24 results are currently being verified and are expected by June 2024.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his latest estimate is of the amount of investment that will be generated by the GREAT Study UK campaign.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland campaign is the UK’s international brand marketing campaign, which works closely with UK businesses, not-for-profit organisations and high-profile figures to promote the best of the UK abroad. Since 2021/22, the GREAT campaign has had an annual overall budget of circa £60m (2021/22: £60m; 2022/23: £57.12m; and 2023/24: £57.12m). The results of individual GREAT campaigns vary but, on average, externally verified analysis shows £1 of GREAT spend on marketing generates £15 for the UK by encouraging people to visit, study, trade, invest, live and work in the UK.

Encouraging prospective international students to choose to study in UK higher education institutions brings strong return on investment. For example, the GREAT Study UK campaign generated £407m in 2021/22 and £548m in 2022/23 (specifically from international students studying for up to three years in the UK). The 2023/24 results are currently being verified and are expected by June 2024.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost to the public purse has been of the GREAT campaign since its re-launch in 2021.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland campaign is the UK’s international brand marketing campaign, which works closely with UK businesses, not-for-profit organisations and high-profile figures to promote the best of the UK abroad. Since 2021/22, the GREAT campaign has had an annual overall budget of circa £60m (2021/22: £60m; 2022/23: £57.12m; and 2023/24: £57.12m). The results of individual GREAT campaigns vary but, on average, externally verified analysis shows £1 of GREAT spend on marketing generates £15 for the UK by encouraging people to visit, study, trade, invest, live and work in the UK.

Encouraging prospective international students to choose to study in UK higher education institutions brings strong return on investment. For example, the GREAT Study UK campaign generated £407m in 2021/22 and £548m in 2022/23 (specifically from international students studying for up to three years in the UK). The 2023/24 results are currently being verified and are expected by June 2024.

Found: generation policy may make the UK a less attractive place to come for tourists, immi grants , and international

Found: commissioning the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to carry out a rapid review of the Graduate route for international

Found: The Home Secretary has also commissioned a review of the Graduate route for international students to

Found: generation policy may make the UK a less attractive place to come for tourists, immi grants , and international

Found: were considered by stakeholders to be overly burdensome and not commensurate with the risks posed by international

Found: The annual intake of international students contributes £41.9 billion to the UK economy, ¹ and our

Found: PM said that international students were crucial to universities’ sustainability during the pandemic

Found: It includes alumni of Scotland’s world-leading universities, who welcome tens of thousands of international

Found: students, staff, and researchers have an overwhelmingly positive impact in Scotland bringing social

Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it will launch its online digital Talent Attraction and Migration Service (TAMS), and how this will be promoted to employers across Scotland.

Answered by Roddick, Emma - Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees

The first iteration of Scotland’s Migration Service launched on 27 March 2024. The previous working title of ‘Talent Attraction and Migration Service’ was updated following testing with users.

The service is hosted on Scotland.org and provides information and advice to people who have recently moved to Scotland, international students, employers and inward investors, who are able to book one-to-one advice appointments with our expert suppliers – Citizens Advice Scotland and the law firm Seraphus. The scope of the full service will widen in Autumn 2024 to service the needs of individuals located outside Scotland with an interest in moving to Scotland.

Delivery of the first phase of the service is being promoted to employers across Scotland and all other users through a stakeholder advocacy approach. This involves targeted promotional activities through existing relationships and networks of stakeholders. Partnership communications toolkits have been shared with stakeholders containing materials to promote and encourage their own service users to use Scotland's Migration Service. The launch was also promoted via a news release from Scottish Government and social media post.

Further promotional activities will be conducted in Autumn to accompany the launch of the full service.