Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the absence of reciprocal funding for incoming students in the Turing Scheme compared to Erasmus+.
The Turing Scheme will be backed by £110 million, providing funding for around 35,000 students in universities, colleges and schools to go on study and work placements overseas, starting in September 2021. Further details are available on the new Turing Scheme website.
The Turing Scheme is an outward mobility scheme funding UK students to travel abroad. The UK is a world-leading destination for study and research, with four universities in the world’s top 10 and 18 in the top 100. The UK is currently second only to the USA as a destination for international higher education students with approximately 560,000 students from abroad and has been one of the most popular destinations within Erasmus+. It is clear that we have considerable appeal as a destination and partner in international mobilities and exchanges.
Under previous arrangements for student mobility, of which Erasmus+ was a prominent part, UK undergraduates from more advantaged backgrounds have been 1.7 times more likely to participate in mobility schemes compared to disadvantaged students.
Through the Turing Scheme, we will look to target those parts of the country with historically low levels of take-up with a view to boosting social mobility and support disadvantaged students with additional grants for living costs and travel expenses, making life-changing opportunities accessible to everyone across the country.
In order to increase the participation of disadvantaged groups we plan the following measures, which will maintain parity with or exceed the support provided by Erasmus+: