Thank you for taking the time to contact me about supporting the UK's universities.
Our universities contribute hugely to the economy and more widely to society and I understand the concerns about their finances. Universities are at the core of our response to this coronavirus, not only leading on research into potential cures and vaccines but also as a fundamental part of the knowledge economy which will be key to the national recovery.
I am pleased that therefore Ministers have announced measures to support students and universities through these difficult times.
To stabilise admissions, temporary student number controls have been put in place. Providers will be able to recruit students up to a temporary set level, based on provider forecasts, which allows additional growth of up to 5 per cent in the next academic year. The Education Secretary will also have the discretion to allocate an additional 10,000 places on top of the controls, of which 5,000 will be allocated to students studying nursing or allied health courses, to ensure growing numbers that will support our vital public services. A ban on unscrupulous recruitment practices, such as the large-scale use of unconditional offers, and a more structured approach to clearing, will also ensure the admissions process this year is fair and orderly.
An estimated £2.6 billion of tuition fee payments will be bought forward to help universities better manage financial risks over the autumn. This will have no impact on students. A further £100m of public funding will be brought forward to this academic year to help protect vital university research activities.
Ministers have confirmed that education providers are eligible to apply for the broader COVID-19 support packages, including business loan support schemes, which the Office for Students estimates could be worth at least £700m to the sector. Further guidance has been published about how providers should access the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to safeguard staff jobs, in particular stating that any grant from the scheme should not duplicate other sources of public funding where these are being maintained, such as UK home student tuition fees.
On 27 June a further package of support was announced for research-active universities. This includes £280 million of funding and a package of low-interest loans with long pay-back periods supplemented by a small amount of grants, which will be available from autumn. In sharing responsibility for the future of science and research with our world-leading university system, the Government will cover up to 80 per cent of a university’s income losses from international students for the academic year 2020/21, up to the value of their non-publicly funded research activity.
On foreign students, Ministers are working to ensure that existing rules and regulations, including visa regulations, are as flexible as possible in these unprecedented circumstances. For example, on 16 June, it was confirmed that distance/blended learning will be permitted for the 2020/21 academic year, provided students intend to transition to face-to-face learning as soon as circumstances allow. In addition, higher education providers will have flexibility in accommodating applicants’ circumstances where possible, including if applicants are unable to travel to the UK in time for the start of the academic year.
On 20 April, the Home Office updated its visa guidance to provide greater certainty for international higher education students in the UK impacted by coronavirus. On 22 May, the Home Office announced that visas due to expire before 31 May would be extended to 31 July 2020 for those unable to return home.
I know Ministers are committed to continuing to improve our offer to international students, and have announced the new graduate route, to be introduced in summer 2021. The graduate route will be simple and light-touch and will permit graduates at undergraduate and masters level to remain in the UK for 2 years and PhD graduates to remain in the UK for 3 years after they have finished their studies and to work or look for work at any skill level. I am pleased that Ministers have confirmed that those studying by distance/blended learning will be eligible to apply for the graduate route provided they are in the UK by 6 April 2021.
Further details about the support for universities can be accessed here - https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-support-package-for-unive…
Much of this support draws on proposals from universities. I would encourage Ministers to remain open minded about adapting to the needs of universities as the pandemic unfolds.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
Craig Whittaker MP
July 2020