Liz Saville Roberts
Main Page: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)Department Debates - View all Liz Saville Roberts's debates with the Wales Office
(1 week, 2 days ago)
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Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)
We have heard this week that it is growth for Heathrow but decline for Welsh universities. Cardiff University in the Secretary of State’s home city is axing 400 full-time jobs due to a funding crisis, with nursing, music and modern language degrees on the chopping block. This is an education disaster playing out in real time. Will the Government scrap their national insurance hikes to ease the strain on universities?
Jo Stevens
The potential job losses at Cardiff University are deeply concerning and will come as a significant blow to university staff and their families. I hope that there will be sufficient volunteers for a voluntary redundancy programme, so that we avoid compulsory redundancies, and that support will be provided to those impacted. The right hon. Lady will know that the last 14 years of Conservative policies have seen the university sector decimated across the United Kingdom.
Liz Saville Roberts
On Conservative policies, the Secretary of State will know that universities are also being hammered by Brexit. The number of EU students starting full-time undergraduate courses in the UK fell by 68% between 2020 and 2024 to the lowest level in 30 years. Surely she agrees that our rejoining the single market would help universities to attract more students, as well as boosting economic growth.
Jo Stevens
This Government have made economic growth their No. 1 mission. The Prime Minister is leading from the front in resetting the UK’s relationship with the EU. However, the right hon. Lady’s question highlights the stark risks associated with separatism. Those risks are why I will always be a strong and passionate advocate for a Wales that thrives as part of the United Kingdom.