Response to the Education Select Committee

25 April 2017

Responding to the House of Commons Education Select Committee report on Exiting the EU: challenges and opportunities for higher education, Jessica Cole, Head of Policy at the Russell Group, said:

“The Select Committee is absolutely right that uncertainty over EU students and EU staff needs to be reduced immediately. The rights of EU nationals living and working in the UK need to be clarified as a matter of priority. We want university staff and their dependants to keep the same rights to work and stay without a visa as they have now.

“It is also important that UK universities can continue to recruit and retain talented staff and students from the EU and beyond without bureaucratic visa burdens.

“The report rightly highlights the importance of the EU's research programme for fostering collaboration, building networks and providing access to facilities. We hope the Government will prioritise continued access to Horizon 2020 and future programmes based on excellence after the UK’s exit.

“Our universities are just as open and welcoming to students, staff and ideas as ever – we will continue to work with partners across Europe and more widely to boost the UK’s international competitiveness.”

The full report can be found here.