2. What recent assessment has the Welsh Government made of the impact of Brexit on recruiting students from the EU 27 countries to educational establishments across Wales? OAQ52862

We've worked with our higher education funding council and Welsh universities to understand the impact of potential changes to EU student recruitment. Of course, universities as autonomous institutions will be undertaking their own assessments and developing contingency plans for a range of scenarios.

Thank you for that answer, First Minister. With only weeks left for the Brexit negotiations to be concluded, we're still faced with continuing and huge uncertainty in so many areas, including our higher education system. I'm told that applications from EU students are down across Wales, but, for those EU students actually accepting places at the University of South Wales, which of course includes Merthyr college in my constituency, the figure is some 33 per cent. There's no doubt that this is going to impact on university and college finances, the sustainability of jobs in the sector and on many local economies. So, do you share my concerns about these recent recruitment figures, and what more can we do to help our university sector through this period of uncertainty?

Well, through working, as I said, with the higher education funding council, we're assessing what the effects will be. It is right to say that we have seen 22 per cent fewer EU domiciles placed at Welsh providers for 2018-19. We will, of course, continue to press the message that Wales is open for business and is an attractive destination for students, with well-ranked universities, quality teaching and affordable living costs. But there's no doubt that there is a feeling amongst students not just from within the EU, but from outside, that the UK in some way is not welcoming as far as students are concerned. For years, I listened to people from the Indian Government, for example, and those representing them, saying that they felt that their students were not welcome in the UK any more, and now we're seeing that perceived lack of a welcome being extended to other nationalities as well. But, as far as Wales is concerned, we welcome the brightest and best, wherever they're from.

Official figures show that Welsh universities saw the biggest drop in the United Kingdom in the number of applicants from the European Union between 2017 and 2018. Applications from EU students fell by 10 per cent in Wales, compared to a 2 per cent increase in England and a 3 per cent increase in Northern Ireland. Given that Brexit will affect the whole of the United Kingdom, why is it that Welsh universities have performed so badly in attracting students from EU countries compared to England and Northern Ireland? And, First Minister, what is your Government doing to reverse this trend in Wales, because this is a devolved area?

Well, there's no doubt that the changes in student finance policy will have had an effect. It was very generous, of course, for EU students; that's not the case any more in the same way. That may well be part of the reason why we've seen a decline in Wales, given the situation with our own student finances. Those changes, of course, were made following an independent review. It is, though, encouraging to see an increase in EU applicants to Welsh universities for early deadline courses, which include most medicine and dentistry courses—that's to commence study in 2019. But, of course, we will continue to work with our universities in order to make sure that it's understood that Wales is an attractive place to study.

I think many Assembly Members have given the context of Brexit and how that may impact EU students and also those coming from further than the EU. But, looking at the current situation, there are no Welsh universities in the top 10 across the UK for EU student numbers, so that is something in the here and now that we are not performing well on. Yes, your Government has confirmed that EU students will continue under the same rules until 2019-20, but I want to understand what you are going to be able to do after that point. An announcement that covers only the next financial year might not be sufficient enough for those students who are planning their future careers, be it within the EU, or beyond that. So, what can you do to encourage them to see Wales as a viable place for them to come and study?

Well, we established the higher education Brexit working group over two years ago. That was established to share intelligence and to provide advice to the Welsh Government. We work with our universities, of course, to make sure that their voices are heard abroad, and of course to ensure that they are able to market themselves abroad. Now, within Europe itself, until last year, the only two offices we had in the EU, outside of the UK, were in Dublin and in Brussels. That's changing, with Paris, with Dusseldorf, with Berlin opening; there will be others in southern Europe in the future. I would anticipate those offices being available to higher education institutions, to help them to promote their message in important European markets, and of course to assist students to find out more about Wales.