International Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Students (S&T Committee Report)

Lord Stevenson of Balmacara Excerpts

Thursday 19th March 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Lab)]

My Lords, I begin by thanking the noble Earl, Lord Kinnoull, for his very fine maiden speech, which has already been referred to around the House. We are all very grateful to have him with us to join in our discussions. I send my particular welcome to him as a fellow chemistry graduate from the same university, although, I think, of a different generation. In fact, I think that we did the same thing, which was to take the best of the chemistry courses on offer and then immediately go off and do something else—in my case, an accountancy and professional administration degree. Nevertheless, the lessons that we learnt will stay with us. Indeed, the noble Earl was able to use his business experience to contribute directly to this debate and we were all informed by that. His point that international businesses need international STEM graduates is very important, and it is a theme that comes back throughout the report.

It is no disrespect to the noble Earl to say that the other people who have contributed to the debate have also made it a very high-quality one. The point was made that it was rather weighted on the scales towards the aristocratic side, with three earls and a viscount. Indeed, I got so freaked by that that I decided I had better have some reserves, so I brought along my good and noble friend Lord Grantchester. Unfortunately, he scarpered just before he had the chance to bolster up what I was about to say, but I am sure he will come back.

I thank the committee and particularly the chairman, the noble Lord, Lord Krebs, for an excellent report on international science, technology, engineering and mathematics students and for trying to tease out some helpful recommendations for the benefit of your Lordships’ House and, indeed, of the Government. Once again, it is fair to point out that there has been a delay of nearly a year before your Lordships have been able to discuss such a good report. That is to be regretted.

It is a fine report and it is in the best traditions of the House. It is one that we expect to see but it is also important to recognise how good it is. It is a process of taking evidence, reflecting on and sifting through it, and then reporting carefully on the issues and offering suggestions to the Government on how many of those issues might be resolved. Sadly, as the noble Lord, Lord Krebs, said in his introduction, the Government’s response to the report is rather defensive and, in some cases, rather brusque to the point of rudeness. I may be wrong but I wonder whether anybody else got from the response, as I did, some Orwellian overtones, with the assertive mantra: there was a problem; the government have acted; there is therefore no longer a problem and no further work is required. For example, the introduction to their response states:

“The Government has reformed the student visa system to cut out the abuse of the system, and will continue to do so. We have also taken steps to continue to attract talented international students to our world class universities. We have been very clear that there is no limit on the number of international students and there are no barriers to studying in the UK”.

It is pure aspiration and rhetoric. It is not evidence-based or thoughtful in terms of the report. It continues with the rather chilling phrase:

“There have been a number of myths and inaccurate perceptions, which we are determined to correct”.

That smacks more of Room 101 in the Ministry of Love than a considered response from BIS and the Home Office.

In my view, Britain has long been and must remain an optimistic, outward looking and confident nation. When more people travel and trade physically and virtually across borders than ever before, no country can pull up the drawbridge. Our economy and culture have benefited immensely from those who have come here through the generations. We should be proud of being British and we should rejoice in the confident British diversity that occurs right across the country, and which London showed off for us in Olympic year. As we have heard today, the impact of the Government’s student visa policy is both economically illiterate and culturally bankrupt. Bringing more talented students, whether from China, India or Brazil, to learn at Britain’s universities not only brings in substantial investment in the short term but helps Britain to build cultural and economic links with the future leaders of the fastest growing economies on earth.

Britain has a long and proud history of being the destination of choice for potential students from around the globe. Our universities are highly regarded and the UK provides a rich, diverse and safe environment to study. All of this is detailed in the report. It seems to me that, given the comparative advantage that we have established, and the place we hold within the world, UK higher education should be front and centre of an active government strategy to generate growth. If we are going to keep up with our competitor countries we need to be bringing in more talented students from around the world to learn at Britain’s top universities. It not only brings in substantial investment but helps Britain to build important cultural and economic links—the soft power referred to by other speakers—and we should be absolutely getting behind it and backing it all the way.

Why is the Government’s policy so confused? Why is it so destructive? It is already having negative impacts, as we have heard, on the perception of the UK as a good place to study. A recent NUS survey of international students found that 40 per cent of those who were here said that they would not advise a friend or relative from their home country to come to the UK to study. That does not seem to be the best possible advice. Everybody knows that the best advertising for any product are the clients and customers. If they turn against it, there is a problem.

As we heard today, the main charge is that there is a causal relationship between the immigration changes brought in by this Government and the erosion in our market share of students coming to study STEM subjects. The evidence is that there is a perception around the world that Britain no longer welcomes its international students. As we heard, the Indian subcontinent has been one of the worst examples of that. We think that many of the students who would previously have come here have gone to Canada, Australia or America. We doubt whether that will ever revert back to the normal situation. The evidence is difficult to prove. As was said, there is no test that could be carried out on what would have happened if the world had not changed, but it seems to be convincing that so much has happened within the period of four years in which these changes have come in. Changing the rules continuously, as has happened, and as documented in the report, fuels that perception, whatever the Prime Minister or Ministers may say.

If bureaucracy is intensifying and the costs are going up, we are hardly being competitive. The world market is competitive and we are falling behind in what we can offer in terms of easy access to courses and then in terms of graduate employment, as shown in the report and raised by a number of noble Lords. We are not able to sustain our postgraduate courses, with all that that implies in terms of what the impact might be on home-based students. It also has an impact on SMEs, as employers’ organisations have pointed out, so it is a perfect storm.

With one or two exceptions, we seem to be agreed in the Chamber that there is a problem and that the solutions put forward by the Government will not clear it up. But as the noble Lord, Lord Rees, said, what is intriguing is why this has happened. The department responsible for higher education, BIS, has in effect been rolled over by the Home Office and the policies of immigration have trumped the policies of growth. An initial idea, which was probably right in instinct and correct to carry out, to clean up what seems to have been a really troublesome FE sector in terms of immigration, has been used to drive a coach and horses through a sector that we should support and cherish.

Can the Minister reconcile what is set out in this excellent report with the aspirations set out in her department’s July 2013 publication, International Education: Global Growth and Prosperity, which is quoted in the Select Committee’s report, which states that international students,

“boost the local economy where they study—as well as enhancing our cultural life, and broadening the educational experience of the UK students they study alongside”.

Is that still the case? Can she confirm that it remains the Government’s intention to leave the immigration system as it is? If so, can she explain how the Government can say that they believe that it is realistic for numbers of international students in HE to grow by 15% to 20% over the next five years? I do not see the evidence to support that. Can she set out for us today the practical steps that the Government are taking to show that the UK values international students, will provide a warm welcome and support while they are here and will keep in touch after they go home?