Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

International Students

Monday 22 June 2020 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Greg Smith asked the Minister to work closely with the University of Buckingham to ensure international students can fully participate as soon as possible.
  • The Minister outlined a two-tier covid response to attract international students, including working across government to remove logistical barriers and communicating that the UK is open for business.
  • Emma Hardy highlighted the 20 billion economic contribution of international students and the damage to universities due to the UK's slow and ineffective response to covid.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Greg Smith Con Buckingham
Immigration Education
Context

The University of Buckingham relies heavily on international students, who constitute over 40% of its student population.

Question

International students are extremely important to the University of Buckingham, making up over 40% of all students there. Will my hon. Friend work closely with the University of Buckingham and look at all possible measures to ensure that international students can fully participate as soon as possible in the first-class education the university has to offer?

Answer from Michelle Donelan (The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning)

I certainly will. I am leading a two-tier covid response to attract international students: first, by working across government to remove and reduce the logistical barriers faced by students, including visa issues; and secondly, by communicating that the UK is open for business via advertising and open letters to international students, our embassies, and international media.

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Q2 Emma Hardy Lab Keighley
Education Economy
Context

International students contribute £20 billion to the UK economy. The country's high COVID-19 death toll has led to concerns about a decline in international student numbers.

Question

International students bring £20 billion to our economy, and global soft power and influence, the loss of which will not just damage our universities. I do recognise the uphill battle the Minister faces, hindered by a slow and ineffective Home Office and the heartbreaking reality that the UK's covid-19 death toll is now the third highest in the world. So how will she ensure that our universities maintain capacity and sustain courses if international student numbers decline?

Answer from Michelle Donelan (The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning)

As I have already outlined, we are working to help to mitigate the challenges that universities face, which are faced globally in the higher education sector. In addition, on 4 May we announced a sustainability package on top of the additional support that the Treasury had already announced—£700 million to the sector, including the job retention scheme and access to coronavirus loans. The package that we announced on 4 May also included bringing forward £100 million of quality-related funding for research because, as the hon. Lady will know, international students cross-subsidise research.

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