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.