Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to the graduate visa route on export earnings.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government remains committed to sustainable growth in student numbers and the International Education Strategy ambition to host 600,000 international students a year. The Department for Business and Trade is aware of the potential impact of any changes to the Graduate Route visa via assessments made by stakeholders such as Universities UK. To that end, HMG’s International Education Champion, Sir Steve Smith, is advising the Migration Advisory Committee’s review of the Graduate Route.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the number of enrolments of international students on the finances of universities.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The government seeks to ensure that there is a fair and robust migration policy, whilst maintaining the UK’s place as a top destination for the best and brightest students from around the world. The department remains committed to the ambitions set out in the government’s International Education Strategy to host 600,000 international students per year and to increase the value of our education exports to £35 billion per year, both by 2030.
The department expects the UK to remain a highly attractive study destination. The UK has four universities in the top ten, and 17 in the top 100, worldwide. The UK has a highly sought after higher education experience, which is respected by students across the globe. The department is hugely proud to have met its international student recruitment ambition two years running.
However, the level of legal migration remains too high. As a result, on 4 December 2023, the government announced a new package of measures to reduce net migration and curb abuse and exploitation of the country’s immigration system.
The Office for Students (OfS), the independent regulator of the higher education sector in England, continues to work closely with the Home Office, Department for Business and Trade, and other governmental departments to assess the impact of these changes on higher education providers.
Our universities are autonomous institutions responsible for managing their own budgets. The department also works closely with the OfS to understand the evolving landscape, including on risks relating to international students.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that funding allocated to universities enables institutions to mitigate losses incurred from the decline in international student recruitment.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The department considers it important that it has a sustainable system to support students and support higher education (HE), that is responsive to the needs of labour markets and the wider economy and is fair to students and fair to taxpayers. In 2021/22, the total income of the HE sector in England was £40.8 billion, which was up from £28 billion in 2014/15. Of the £40.8 billion, approximately £16 billion was provided by government. This is on top of the department’s £1.3 billion capital investment for teaching and research over the current Spending Review period.
Through the Strategic Priorities Grant, the department is investing hundreds of millions of pounds in additional funding over the three-year period from the 2022/23 to 2024/25 financial years to support high-quality teaching and facilities. This includes the largest increase in government funding for the HE sector to support students and teaching in over a decade. In addition, the department has provided £450 million of capital funding across the 2022/23 to 2024/25 financial years to allow HE providers to invest in a greater range of projects that will deliver better facilities for students.
With our world-class universities, the government fully expects the UK to continue to be a major destination of choice for international students. The department will continue to work closely with the Home Office on the student visa system and on how it impacts international students.
Longer-term funding plans for the HE sector will be set out at the next multi-year Spending Review, in line with the approach to long-term public spending commitments across government.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made in implementing the objectives of the International Education Strategy to increase the (a) value of education exports and (b) number of international higher education students studying in the UK.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The International Education Strategy (IES) is a UK wide strategy which commits to growing the value of education exports. An update to the department’s IES was published on 26 May 2023. This is the third annual progress update to the original 2019 IES. A link to the 2023 update can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-education-strategy-2023-update.
The UK has met the IES international student ambition of 600 thousand per year by 2030 for two years running in both 2020/21 and 2021/22. The department is on track and will continue working towards the IES education export ambition of £35 billion per year by 2030 with £27.9 billion revenue in 2021. Data used to track progress against these two ambitions is published annually.
As the International Education Champion, Professor Sir Steve Smith continues to promote UK education export growth and supports ministers to engage in strategic discussions on progress on implementing the strategy with the education sector.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential (a) merits of extending eligibility for Disabled Students’ Allowance to international students and (b) impact of the existing eligibility criteria on educational inequalities in higher education.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The government appreciates the significant economic and cultural contribution that international students make to UK higher education (HE). The department’s offer to international students remains very competitive and the department is committed to ensuring the UK remains a destination of choice for the brightest and best international students from across the globe.
To be eligible for Disabled Students Allowance, students must: (a) meet the personal eligibility criteria for student finance within the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 and be studying a course designated for student support; and (b) have a disability as defined in the Equality Act 2010.
Entitlement to student support and home fee status is limited to eligible students who are undertaking HE courses offered by UK institutions that are designated for support. This is to ensure that the HE student finance system remains financially sustainable. The government has no plans to extend home fee status and student support to international students.
All HE providers must fulfil their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 in their support for all disabled HE students regardless of whether they are home or international students.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) the UK visa system and (b) Government discourse on migration encourage international students to choose (i) Scotland and (ii) the UK as their study destination.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Our offer to international students is extremely competitive, attracting the brightest and best talent the world has to offer, and welcoming people who will contribute to the UK’s excellent academic reputation and help keep our universities competitive on the world stage. The Government appreciates the significant academic, economic and cultural contribution international students make to the UK’s society as a whole.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to the graduate visa route on (a) the financial sustainability of the university sector and (b) local economies.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has been commissioned to provide further evidence to support the government’s understanding of how the Graduate Route is operating in practice. The focus of the Graduate Route review will be to prevent abuse and ensure the integrity and quality of our world-leading UK higher education (HE) sector is protected. No decisions have been made on the future of the Graduate Route and the department awaits the report of the MAC in May.
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 on HE provider financial sustainability.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
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.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
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:
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.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
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.