Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have received from UK universities proposing the relaxation of restrictions for overseas students, such as rules relating to their employment in the UK after graduation.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government seeks to ensure that the UK has a fair and robust migration policy whilst maintaining the UK’s place as a top destination for the best and brightest students from around the world. The UK has four universities in the top 10, and 17 in the top 100. The UK has a highly sought after higher education (HE) experience, which is respected by students across the globe.
The government recognises the significant economic and cultural contribution that international students make to the UK’s HE sector and their positive impact on society as a whole.
Ministers and departmental officials regularly engage with the HE sector on a range of issues, including on international students.
Written Evidence Feb. 06 2024
Inquiry: Impact of industrial action on university studentsFound: IUS0014 - Impact of industrial action on university students WONKHE Written Evidence
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of the estimated 33 per cent fall in overseas students on the financial viability of UK universities.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government seeks to ensure that there is a fair and robust migration policy, whilst maintaining the UK’s place as a top destination for the best and brightest students from around the world. The department remains committed to the ambitions set out in the government’s International Education Strategy to host 600,000 international students per year and to increase the value of its education exports to £35 billion per year, both by 2030.
The department expects the UK to remain a highly attractive study destination. The UK has four universities in the top ten, and 17 in the top 100. The UK has a highly sought after higher education (HE) experience, which is respected by students across the globe. The department is hugely proud to have met its international student recruitment ambition two years running.
However, the level of legal migration remains too high. As a result, on 4 December 2023, the government announced a new package of measures to reduce net migration and curb abuse and exploitation of the country’s immigration system.
Our universities are autonomous institutions responsible for managing their own budgets. The department works closely with the Office for Students, the independent regulator of the HE sector in England, to understand the evolving landscape including on risks relating to international students.
It also continues to work closely with the Home Office, the Department for Business and Trade, and other governmental departments to assess the impact of these changes on HE providers.
Feb. 16 2024
Source Page: Explaining Prevent to staff and students in higher educationFound: Explaining Prevent to staff and students in higher education
Written Evidence May. 23 2024
Inquiry: International students in English universitiesFound: ISU0001 - International students in English universities Kexgill Group Written Evidence
Written Evidence May. 20 2024
Inquiry: The UK Government’s support of education for Overseas Territories studentsFound: OTE0011 - The UK Government’s support of education for Overseas Territories students Falkland Islands
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they will maintain routes for international students to study and work in the UK.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The student route launched in 2020 and provides a way for international students to apply to study in the UK. Some students have work rights such as those studying at degree level and above at higher education institutions, who can work for up to 20 hours per week during term-time, and full-time during vacations. Upon course completion, students may apply to extend their leave in the UK, including under work routes, if relevant requirements are met.
We keep all our immigration policies under constant review to ensure they best serve the UK and reflect the public’s priorities.
Written Evidence Feb. 06 2024
Inquiry: Impact of industrial action on university studentsFound: IUS0011 - Impact of industrial action on university students NUS Written Evidence
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing non-repayable maintenance grant funding for higher education students from the least advantaged backgrounds.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The government believes that income-contingent student loans are a fair and sensible way of financing higher education. It is only right that those who benefit from the system should make a fair contribution to its costs. The department has continued to increase maximum loans and grants for living and other costs for undergraduate and postgraduate students each year with a 2.8% increase for the current 2023/24 academic year and a further 2.5% increase announced for the 2024/25 academic year.
In addition, the department has frozen maximum tuition fees for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years. By 2024/25, maximum fees will have been frozen for seven successive years. The department believes that the current fee freeze achieves the best balance between ensuring that the system remains financially sustainable, offering good value for the taxpayer and reducing debt levels for students in real terms.
The government understands the pressures people have been facing with the cost of living and has taken action to help. The department has already made £276 million of student premium and mental health funding available for the 2023/24 academic year to support successful outcomes for students, including disadvantaged students. The department has also made a further £10 million of one-off support available to help student mental health and hardship funding for the 2023/24 academic year. This funding will complement the help universities are providing through their own bursary, scholarship and hardship support schemes. For the 2024/25 financial year the department has increased the Student Premium, including the full-time, part-time and disabled premium, by £5 million to reflect high demand for hardship support. Further details of this allocation for the 2024/25 academic year will be announced by the Office for Students (OfS) in the summer.
Overall, support to households to help with the high cost of living is worth £108 billion over 2022/23 to 2024/25, which is an average of £3,800 per UK household. The department believes this will have eased the pressure on family budgets and so will in turn enable many families to provide additional support to their children in higher education to help them meet increased living costs.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing non-repayable maintenance grants for higher education students from the least advantaged backgrounds.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The government believes that income-contingent student loans are a fair and sensible way of financing higher education. It is only right that those who benefit from the system should make a fair contribution to its costs. The department has continued to increase maximum loans and grants for living and other costs for undergraduate and postgraduate students each year with a 2.8% increase for the current 2023/24 academic year and a further 2.5% increase announced for the 2024/25 academic year.
In addition, the department has frozen maximum tuition fees for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years. By 2024/25, maximum fees will have been frozen for seven successive years. The department believes that the current fee freeze achieves the best balance between ensuring that the system remains financially sustainable, offering good value for the taxpayer and reducing debt levels for students in real terms.
The government understands the pressures people have been facing with the cost of living and has taken action to help. The department has already made £276 million of student premium and mental health funding available for the 2023/24 academic year to support successful outcomes for students, including disadvantaged students. The department has also made a further £10 million of one-off support available to help student mental health and hardship funding for the 2023/24 academic year. This funding will complement the help universities are providing through their own bursary, scholarship and hardship support schemes. For the 2024/25 financial year the department has increased the Student Premium, including the full-time, part-time and disabled premium, by £5 million to reflect high demand for hardship support. Further details of this allocation for the 2024/25 academic year will be announced by the Office for Students (OfS) in the summer.
Overall, support to households to help with the high cost of living is worth £108 billion over 2022/23 to 2024/25, which is an average of £3,800 per UK household. The department believes this will have eased the pressure on family budgets and so will in turn enable many families to provide additional support to their children in higher education to help them meet increased living costs.