Queen’s Speech

Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon Excerpts

Thursday 29th June 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon (Lab)]

My Lords, the decisions on grammar schools and higher education were omitted from the gracious Speech, as was positively noted by many noble Lords. However, my focus today will be on higher education and, in particular, on the positive impact of international students who study in the UK. I declare my interest as chancellor of De Montfort University.

It is fair to say that following the Brexit result a high degree of negativity has been centred on immigration, with a significant part of it emphasising international students. Therefore, I want to convey the benefits of having international students as part of our global society. We too often hear of the negatives and rarely come across the positives. To endorse this, I shall set out some findings from a survey conducted by Oxford Economics for Universities UK in 2014-15 which gave a clear indication of why it is so important for the UK, as a world leader in global education and research, to maintain a lead in bringing in international students.

The UK has been the second most popular global destination for international students after America. However, this number has declined recently, given that other English-speaking countries, such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and Europe have increased their number of overseas students. The basis for the decline has been attributed to factors such as changes in student visa arrangements, the net migration target and, more recently, Brexit, although the actual impact of Brexit on EU students in the UK remains unknown. For the moment, the Government have guaranteed to continue to fund EU students until 2019.

In terms of benefits, what are we actually looking at? International students have very much been part of the essence of university life culturally and socially, and the students have always been essential to the UK’s higher education sector and to the country more widely. International students contribute more than £7 billion to the UK economy, and spending by international students supported 206,600 jobs in university towns and cities across the UK. In 2014-15, 437,000 international students, EU and non-EU, made up 19% of all students registered at UK universities. Their contribution to on and off-campus spending has generated £25.8 billion in gross output for the UK’s economy. International students are necessary for the British economy as a whole, being responsible for £10.8 billion of UK export earnings. They also boost other British industries. For example, they add £750 million to the UK transport industry and £690 million to the retail industry.

In my role as chancellor of De Montfort University, I have obtained some facts, and I would like to share with the House a case study on De Montfort students’ impact on the local community via DMU Square Mile. One-fifth—560—of its 2,800 student volunteers are international students. They have done more than 5,000 hours of work in the community this year. Nabeelah Omarjee is from South Africa. Nabeelah’s enthusiasm has seen her benefit hundreds of people by volunteering on a variety of projects in Leicester and abroad. By taking part in projects around cancer, refugee support, diabetes and more, Nabeelah has always been available to give anyone a helping hand. DMU Global is De Montfort’s pioneering international student experience programme, and demonstrates that DMU is committed to ensuring that its students have a global outlook. I must not forget the DMU Love International campaign, which has celebrated the value that international students and staff bring to the UK.

It is very concerning, therefore, that following several reforms made to the immigration system, the UK’s higher education sector as a whole has experienced two consecutive years of falling overseas entrants: 2011-12 and 2012-13. This is not regarded as a dramatic drop in enrolments, but this recent trend challenges the levels of growth witnessed pre-2010. While demand has continued to increase from countries such as China, the number of Indian students commencing courses in the UK has almost halved in two years. The higher education sector as a whole now sources around one-eighth of its income from international students’ tuition fees. Fluctuating demand from prospective students overseas can therefore leave institutions vulnerable or affect their ability to plan strategically in the long term. Therefore, I ask Her Majesty’s Government to recognise that international students are of real and great importance to the UK’s higher education sector and to the country regionally. Although there have been suggestions that a more positive picture is emerging, it is key that an encouraging approach is maintained and narrated to the global society which demonstrates the values and commitment made by the UK to enhance and develop further the huge opportunities available to young people all over the world.