Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what target her Department has set for the level of higher education exports in the next five years; and what steps her Department plans to take to meet that target.

A target to increase the value of exports across the education sector to £30bn by 2020 was set by the previous government. The target is rightly ambitious and the Department for International Trade (DIT) remains committed to working with the rest of government and the sector to drive progress towards achieving it.

The Government actively promotes study in the UK through the GREAT Campaign and through the British Council, which promotes the UK in over 100 countries. There continues to be no limit to the number of overseas students who can come here to study, and the UK is second only to the USA in terms of our market share.

This Government continues to support growth in UK education exports, including through the work of the team dedicated to education exports in DIT. I have recently announced the establishment of a DIT Education Sector Advisory Group, chaired by myself, which will support the aspirations of the sector internationally. The inaugural meeting is scheduled for December.