EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Baroness Tyler of Enfield Excerpts

Friday 8th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Tyler of Enfield (LD) [V]]

My Lords, last January the Prime Minister told MPs that there was

“no threat to the Erasmus scheme.”—[Official Report, Commons, 15/1/20; col. 1021.]

What a difference a year makes. In our debate last week, many noble Lords voiced concerns about the absence of a two-way exchange scheme, its funding base and the loss of opportunities to young people, particularly those from low-income backgrounds; and about the effect on our international reputation for keeping to our word. I share those concerns and wish to ask the Minister some further questions.

First, what practical steps have the Government taken to ensure that UK universities can continue to receive incoming Erasmus students from the EU as they export UK Turing students? Have they agreed this with the EU? Secondly, what assessment have the Government made of the impact of withdrawing from Erasmus in terms of the numbers of EU students studying in UK universities and on the local economies of university towns and cities? Thirdly, could the Government confirm that the £100 million promised for the Turing programme is an annual commitment? How many years do the Government commit to this level of funding? Is the £100 million a budget increase or decrease on a like-for-like basis? Finally, what negotiations have the Government had with the Turing Trust and the Turing family about the use of the name, and what was their reaction?

Brexit has happened, something I profoundly regret. Those of us who believe in the European vision have to accept that and work within the new framework in which our nation finds itself. The idea that we should simply move on is deeply flawed. We must maintain the closest possible relationship with our former European partners to help put right some of the self-imposed errors, such as the withdrawal from the Erasmus scheme.

The noble Lord, Lord Heseltine, wrote in the Times earlier this week that

“Brexit is not done: it is a process of change.”


We should not and we must not just move on, as some people would have us do. Like him, I am proud to be a voice for a new, positive and close relationship with Europe as we seek to re-establish our reputation on the world stage.