here - United Kingdom Parliament

1715 Student Visas
6 JUNE 2013
Student Visas
1716
We can do three things to solve this problem. First,
we must continue to come down hard on immigration
fraud. The Government are right to deal robustly with
those who abuse the student route. The fact that we
have closed down more than 500 bogus colleges since
the election shows how easy it has been to exploit the
student visa system in recent years. If we want to carry
the public with us, it is vital to maintain public confidence
in the integrity of our immigration system.
Jeremy Corbyn: I understand the point that the hon.
Gentleman is making about bogus colleges, but does he
have sympathy for the students who applied to enter
this country to study at those colleges and who have
had a very bad time through no fault of their own
because they were duped into a very bad system? The
system has changed a bit, but should we not have a
more humanitarian approach to those people who,
after all, are victims?
Nadhim Zahawi: The hon. Gentleman is right to
point out that innocents get caught out in those situations.
The best way to deal with the problem is to close down
the colleges that are abusing the system and the students.
Indeed, I spoke about London Metropolitan university
in his constituency earlier and the perception that there
is the forced deportation of legitimate students from
this country.
Secondly, we must be more intelligent about where
the risks and the opportunities lie for us. I hope that
Ministers will listen to this point carefully. In targeting
tier 4 visas, the UK Border Agency already distinguishes
between high and low-risk students. There are face-to-face
interviews for students who are considered to be high
risk.
In my opinion, that should work the other way around
and we should give the red-carpet treatment to the kind
of students we want to attract to our country. For
example, female students from the Gulf states are likely
to have lower English language proficiency and are
more likely to want to bring their spouses and children
with them. If we want to see reform in the Gulf states,
those are exactly the kind of students we need to
attract. However, under the current rules, their dependants
are obliged to return home every six months to renew
their visa, and after 11 months the student must do the
same. In Australia, Canada and America, dependants
can apply for a visa that covers the whole study period.
We do not need to rewrite the rule book; we just need to
have more common sense and flexibility where our
national interests are concerned.
Finally, we need a cross-party consensus to neutralise
the political fallout. No Government want to be accused
of fiddling the figures, particularly on a policy area as
combustible as immigration. We need to present a united
front when standing up for British economic interests.
That is why I am sharing a platform with my colleagues
from the Labour party on this motion.
I came into politics to get politics out of the way of
British businesses that want to grow. Elsewhere in the
economy, the Government have done great things to
cut red tape and unnecessary bureaucracy. We must
extend the same freedoms and opportunities to our
higher education sector. I commend the motion to the
House.
1.25 pm
Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central) (Lab): It is a pleasure
to speak after the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon
(Nadhim Zahawi), just as it was to speak alongside him
last September at the Conservative party conference,
where we made the same points and received a good
reception.
Nadhim Zahawi: The hon. Gentleman is always welcome.
Paul Blomfield: I am not sure that I will make a habit
of it. We made the point then and we make it again
today that there is much cross-party unity on this issue.
The fact that the motion has been sponsored by Members
from all three main parties is a sign of that. From my
discussions with Government Members, I am sure that,
were they not tied by the responsibilities of office, many
more of them would be joining us in support of the
motion.
The case that we are making today was perhaps most
powerfully put in an article in the Financial Times in
May 2012 under the headline, “Foreign students are key
to UK prosperity”. The author wrote:
“Britain’s universities are a globally competitive export sector
and well-placed to make a greater contribution to growth. With
economic growth at a premium, the UK should be wary of
artificially hobbling it.”
The article continued:
“Now that the government has clamped down on the problem
of bogus colleges”—
from my perspective, the last Government did that
too—
“there is scope to take legitimate students out of the annual
migration targets… Indeed, that is what our main competitors in
the global student market already do.”
I do not disagree with a word in the entire article and I
do not think that any of my hon. Friends would. Who
was the author? It was the hon. Member for Orpington
(Joseph Johnson), who is now head of the No. 10 policy
unit. I quote from that article not to score a debating
point, but to demonstrate the breadth of support for
the motion.
At the outset of the debate, it is worth emphasising
that international students are important not just because
of their financial contribution, but because they add to
the intellectual vitality of our campuses; they are vital
to the viability of many courses, particularly in the
STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and
maths; they contribute to the cutting-edge research that
gives the UK a unique edge in international markets;
and they give UK students the chance to learn alongside
people from every other major country, which is
extraordinarily good preparation for the transnational
environment in which our graduates will work. As has
been pointed out, international students form relationships
and a fondness for this country that will win us contracts
and influence as they become leaders back home.
Those are huge advantages for Britain, but let us put
them to one side and look at the hard-nosed economic
case. International students bring £8 billion into the
UK economy each year. Higher education is a major
industry and a major export earner. Some people ask,
“What about the costs?” Indeed, the Minister made that
point on the all-party parliamentary university group at
one point. I discussed it with the university of Sheffield,