Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Education – in the Senedd at 1:51 pm on 1 May 2019.

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Photo of Kirsty Williams Kirsty Williams Liberal Democrat 1:51, 1 May 2019

Well, firstly, let me be clear that I want as many students from the EU, indeed as many students from around the world, to come and study here at our universities. We have a significant higher education offer, which would be of huge benefit to them. If I could just clarify to the Member, it is not our own budgets that are pertinent to this point—we need to have confirmation from the Westminster Government about the provision of loans. If that does not come forward, the Welsh Government would have to guarantee around £45 million of support to EU students to ensure that they would have the funding in place for the entirely of their study. I'm sure the Member would agree with me that would pose a significant risk to the Welsh Government budget. That's why we require clarity from the Westminster Government around access to loans. Without that clarity, I do not feel that I'm in a position to expose our budgets to those risks. I have pressed the UK higher education Minister, Mr Skidmore, on this issue at every meeting that I have with him. My understanding of the situation now is that we are unlikely to receive a decision or publicly have confirmation from the Westminster Government during the purdah period for the European elections.