Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Government to protect UK research jobs with major support package, published on 27 June 2020, whether universities seeking access to replacement funding for research as a result of the decrease in international students can access both the announced (a) grants and (b) loans.

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 29 June 2020 that informed the House of Commons of a support?package to sustain research capacity and capability which might otherwise be impacted by Covid-19.

From the Autumn, the Government will demonstrate its commitment to research by providing a package of support to research-active universities, consisting of low-interest loans with long pay-back periods, supplemented by a small amount of government grants. In sharing responsibility for the future of science and research with our world-leading university system the government will cover up to 80% of a university’s income losses from international students for the academic year 20/21, up to the value of non-publicly funded research activity in that university.

Further details of the package, including the loan and grant arrangements, will be announced in due course.