Asked by
The
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to negotiate
the United Kingdom rejoining the Erasmus+ Programme.
The Minister of State, Department for Education ( of Malvern) (Lab)
My Lords, the Government have not proposed any plans for
rejoining the Erasmus+ programme. However, we will work to reset
the relationship with our European friends, strengthen ties,
secure a broad-based security pact and tackle barriers to trade.
We will look forwards, not backwards, by improving our trade and
investment relationship with the EU while recognising that there
will be no return to the single market, the customs union or
freedom of movement.
The (CB)
My Lords, does the Minister agree, nevertheless, that if the
Prime Minister wishes to reset our relationship with Europe,
there would be nothing more germane to this project than
rejoining Erasmus+ and enabling the cultural exchange which,
through its reciprocity, is at the heart of that programme—an
essential element that the Turing scheme lacks? The EU Commission
says that it is open to discussion. We have done this for
research by rejoining Horizon; we now need to do the same for
education but, most of all, for widening the opportunities in
Europe for our young people.
of Malvern (Lab)
The Prime Minister and the Government are working hard to reset
our relationship with our European friends. The Prime Minister
hosted the EPC at Blenheim Palace, where he was able to engage
with all our European friends, and he has recently visited
Germany, France and Ireland to progress that positive bilateral
work. I think the noble Earl slightly underestimates the impact
of the Turing scheme, which has enabled considerable numbers of
young people to go overseas to work and study. The Government
support it and will want to think about how we can develop
it.
Lord (LD)
My Lords, I understand that one of the objections to rejoining
Erasmus+ is the imbalance between the flow of students coming
into Britain and those going out. Would it not be sensible, given
the crisis in modern language learning and teaching in English
schools, to link the negotiations to rejoin Erasmus with a
deliberate scheme to improve the learning and teaching of French,
Spanish, German and Italian in British schools, and to encourage
British students to go across to those countries and develop
fluency in those languages? That would help the British economy
and our relationship with other countries and would have a whole
host of other benefits.
of Malvern (Lab)
The noble Lord makes an important point about the significance of
languages. I am not sure that we are presently in a position to
advise or inform in detail on the UK's negotiating strategy. But,
notwithstanding that, he is of course right about the
significance of languages. That is why in the department we have,
for example, a very good scheme for language assistants, which
enables people from the UK to travel overseas to work as language
assistants and those from overseas to come to the UK. It has been
successful in helping to promote language learning. We are also
very committed to ensuring that the great benefits that come for
younger people from being able to take part in school trips, for
example, are also facilitated despite the additional barriers
that have been put in place by our decision to leave the EU.
(CB)
My Lords, following on from the last question, will the Minister
acknowledge that it has been shown that the reciprocal element of
Erasmus made a positive contribution to the supply chain of
modern language teachers in our schools? Given the critical
shortage of qualified language teachers—second only to maths,
according to the DfE's own figures—does she agree that rejoining
Erasmus would be a sensible move and that it would help the
Government achieve their stated aim of recruiting more teachers
for shortage subjects?
of Malvern (Lab)
As the noble Baroness identified, as did the noble Lord, Lord
Wallace, there was a considerable asymmetry in the Erasmus+
scheme. Of course, I accept that there is considerable benefit
from welcoming students, teachers and others from overseas into
the UK. That is why the Government have given a much warmer
welcome to international students into our higher education
institutions than was the case with the previous Government.
Erasmus is not the only way in which we can help support language
learning. That is why, as I outlined to the noble Lord, the
English language assistants programme, which is delivered by the
DfE and the British Council, makes an important contribution to
enabling paid teaching placements overseas for UK residents to
improve their language skills, as well as placements in the UK
for non-UK residents to assist with teaching, for example,
French, Spanish, Mandarin, German and Italian. All of those—I
accept the noble Baroness's point—are important in our schools
and further education institutions.
of Llanfaes (PC)
My Lords, next year, the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement is
due for review. It is essential that we consult and acknowledge
the views of young people about their aspirations for our
international relationships. Will the Government explore the
needs and aspirations of young people and future generations
ahead of the trade and co-operation review?
of Malvern (Lab)
The noble Baroness makes an important point about the aspirations
of young people for our relationships internationally, and
particularly with our former EU colleagues. The
Paymaster-General, who is also the Minister for the Constitution
and European Union Relations, is leading the reset of the UK-EU
relationship in the negotiations that the noble Baroness
outlines. I will pass on to him her concern that young people are
involved in the preparations and the process of that negotiation
so that their aspirations can be met by the negotiations that the
Government will undertake and the review of the trade and
co-operation agreement.
(Con)
My Lords, the last Government introduced the Turing scheme with
three very clear principles in mind: first, to make sure that
disadvantaged pupils and students had greater opportunities to
access it; secondly, to give the scheme a truly global focus;
and, thirdly, to ensure value for money for taxpayers. I would be
grateful if the Minister could reassure the House that she agrees
with those principles and set out how she plans to build on the
success of the scheme so far, and indeed give us a clear
assurance that the Government plan to continue with the
scheme.
of Malvern (Lab)
The noble Baroness is absolutely right about the objectives of
the Turing scheme but she will also be reassured by the results
that we have seen this year. For example, we have seen an
increase in the proportion of people from disadvantaged
backgrounds taking part in the scheme—60% compared with 51% last
year. We have also seen a broadening of the possibilities for
those who take part in the scheme. Whereas five out of 10 of the
most popular destinations under the Turing scheme are within the
EU, the other five are outwith the EU, so it is widening the
opportunities for young people and those looking to both work and
study. The Government have committed £110 million of funding for
this academic year, and we will certainly review the success of
this scheme and, in the context of the spending review, think
carefully about its future.
The (CB)
My Lords, while the Minister is reviewing the Turing scheme, I
wonder whether it would be worth reviewing at the same time the
success of the Taith scheme in Wales. It sits alongside the
Turing scheme and is given to Welsh schoolchildren, and is a
better approximation of the Erasmus+ programme.
of Malvern (Lab)
The noble Earl will be pleased to hear that in preparation for
answering this question I have been able to learn about the
success of the Taith scheme. I will certainly want to build on
the relationships that we have across the devolved
Administrations in thinking about the most effective way to
secure what the Foreign Secretary has been very clear about: we
need to do more to champion ties between our people and culture
across the European Union. We will learn from all the good
experiences and schemes that exist across the whole of the
UK.
of Newnham (LD)
My Lords, the initial Question was very much about Erasmus and
the importance of rejoining. The noble Baroness, Lady of Llanfaes—a trio of Smiths is
speaking—talked about taking on board the views of young people.
What are His Majesty's Government doing to look at ways of
strengthening the opportunities for young people to live and work
in Europe? Erasmus provided fantastic opportunities for British
students but also helped British soft power, because we had
students from other European countries coming here. The long-term
benefits of that are profound. Do the Government have a vision
that we should be rebuilding relations in that sort of way?
of Malvern (Lab)
I can reassure the noble Baroness that the resetting of our
relationship with our European friends has been very clearly
identified by the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary as
being about trade and security but also about building on our
ties of friendship and ensuring that opportunities will exist
through school trips and our welcoming of international students
into the UK. This Government have very much improved the welcome
to international students after the very unwelcoming approach
that the last Government took, as well as developing the Turing
scheme in the way that I have outlined.
