Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to provide funding for study abroad programs from 2020 in the event that UK students do not have access to Erasmus+ in time for the 2020-21 academic year.

The government places great value upon international exchange and collaboration in education and training. This will continue to be the case after we leave the EU and establish new relationships with academic institutions across Europe and the rest of the world.

If it is in the UK’s interests, we will seek to participate in some specific EU programmes as a third country. The draft Political Declaration envisages the possibility of UK participation in EU programmes like Erasmus+ and the negotiation of general terms of participation. My officials are preparing for all eventualities and are considering a wide range of options with regard to the future of international exchange. These include potential domestic alternatives to the Erasmus+ programme for the 2020/21 academic year and beyond, should we need them.