Clive Efford
Main Page: Clive Efford (Labour - Eltham and Chislehurst)Department Debates - View all Clive Efford's debates with the Cabinet Office
(6 years, 11 months ago)
Commons ChamberIf I heard the hon. Gentleman correctly, he was not correct at the beginning of his question. In 2009-10, the number of non-UK EU higher education students in the UK was 100,275. In the 2015-16 academic year, the figure had gone up to 112,410.
The £39 billion is to pay for commitments that we entered into freely when we were a full, operating member of the European Union. If we fell out of the European Union and failed to pay that bill, what freedom would the European Union and independent European Union countries have under WTO rules to interfere with the trade agreements we would be negotiating with other countries?
As the hon. Gentleman says, we have negotiated in phase 1 a financial settlement that is representative of the commitments I said we would honour over this period. It is there in the context of the future deal being agreed, but I am optimistic we will agree that future deal.