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To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to give
guidance to students from other European Union member states
wishing to commence study at United Kingdom universities in
2018-19 about the costs of their studies and their
eligibility to access student loans.
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(Con)
My Lords, EU students make an important contribution to our
universities and we want that to continue. Existing student
finance rules on fees and student support for eligible EU
students who either are currently studying or will be
beginning courses in the academic year 2017-18 will remain in
force until students finish their courses. Applications for
2018-19 do not open until this September and we are working
to ensure that students applying have information well in
advance of this date.
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(Lab)
My Lords, I am grateful for that Answer but I really do not
think it is good enough. Universities—including Bath and
Oxford, where I declare an interest—need to plan long term.
There is clear evidence from UCAS, the BMA and others that
student applications from the EU 5are going down this year.
Prospective EU students for 2018 are already considering
their options; without certainty about fees and student
loans, they will look elsewhere. When will the Government say
that they will extend current transitional arrangements? I
urge them to make it soon.
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The noble Baroness makes the important point that there are
uncertainties arising from Brexit, but the Government have
moved rapidly to give assurances to this sector. Within five
days of the referendum result being announced we gave
assurances on the 2016-17 year, then we followed up in
October 2016 with assurances for the 2017-18 year students.
We have also provided similar assurances that EU nationals
starting courses in 2016-17 and 2017-18 remain eligible for
Research Council postgraduate support. As I have said, we
will ensure that students starting in 2018-19 have the
information well in advance.
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(Con)
My Lords, I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Royall; I
think that the Government could be doing a bit more here. It
is not just overseas students who need reassurance—staff and
lecturers and their families who may move here need some
certainty. What we are doing for them?
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My noble friend is absolutely right and, on the statistics
for 2015-16, there were 33,700 EU national academic staff at
UK higher education institutions, accounting for around 17%
of the total academic workforce—so it is an important point.
The Prime Minister has been clear that we want to guarantee
rights for EU nationals in Britain and British nationals in
the EU as early as we can. Our European partners agree with
this and, as my noble friend said the other day,
“the Polish Prime Minister has said: ‘Of course, these
guarantees would need to be reciprocal. It is also important
what guarantees the British citizens living and working in
other member states of the European Union will
have’”.—[Official Report, 13/3/17; col. 1719.]
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(LD)
My Lords, among the many concerns of present and potential EU
students are not just financial considerations but the fear
that they may be refused entry back into the UK if they have
spent time abroad—on a third-year abroad scheme, say, or
other things that take them out of the country for several
months. What assurances can the Government give both to
current and prospective students that they will be able to
travel freely in and out of the UK in the course of their
studies?
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The noble Baroness makes a good point. These are reassurances
that we are looking to give, and I reassure her further that
we are maintaining our dialogue with the sector about the
risks and the opportunities that Brexit presents. , the Minister for
Universities, has established a high-level stakeholder
working group on the EU exit for universities, research and
innovation.
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(Lab)
My Lords, the noble Viscount will be aware that the
regulations abolishing the bursary system for nurses in the
UK, including places for students from the European Union,
have been laid on the Table of this House. The first
indication is that there is a 23% fall in applications, and,
on the specialist courses, that the number of applications
from European Union countries is down by 95%. If by the
following year these figures prove to be as dismal as they
seem, will the Government promise that they will look again
at the whole bursary scheme for nurses?
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The noble Lord is correct on the figures. They are somewhat
as expected. Data published by UCAS for nursing applications
from English domiciled applicants show a dip of around 23%,
so he is correct. However, at a national level, these figures
will still allow the NHS in England to fill the 20,000 or so
student nursing training places, assuming that students meet
the entry requirements of their offer from their course
provider.
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(Con)
But, my Lords, there is concern throughout the academic
community, as my noble friend made clear a moment or two ago.
What plans do my noble friend and his ministerial colleagues
have to meet some of the 35 heads of Oxford colleges and the
vice-chancellor, who wrote to express this concern on Monday
of this week?
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I have read that letter in the Times. I will certainly need
to write to my noble friend on what plans there are to meet
them. However, I am sure that is very much aware of this.
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(Lab)
My Lords, could the noble Viscount comment on the issue that
has been raised, and was also raised within the question
asked by my noble friend—namely, who actually runs the
admissions system for universities in this country? Is it his
department or is it the Home Office, given that the Home
Office runs independent interviews of all persons selected
in-country, imposes penalties if students who are recruited
do not complete their courses and imposes quotas on the
number of persons on a course? The Minister always says that
there is no limit on the number of overseas students but it
seems to me that the Home Office has one. Is that correct?
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The Department for Education takes the lead on this. However,
as the noble Lord would expect, there are cross-departmental
links with the Home Office, and that will continue.
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(LD)
My Lords, I declare an interest as the chancellor of the
University of St Andrews, of which the noble Viscount is a
distinguished graduate. May I invite him to pay an early
visit to his alma mater so that he can hear for himself the
anxieties and apprehensions of both staff and students at the
failure of the Government to specify precisely what steps
they are going to take to preserve the quality of university
education after Brexit?
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I would be delighted to take up the noble Lord’s offer and
visit my alma mater again. I am aware of the concerns
expressed not just in Scotland but south of the border.
Again, my honourable friend in the other place is taking note
of all the concerns expressed.
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(Con)
My Lords, the last figure I saw of the estimates of student
loans likely to have to be written off was a pretty horrific
£45 billion. What is the Government’s present estimate?
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I will need to write to my noble friend to give that figure.
