6. What discussions has the Counsel General had regarding the ability of Welsh people to study abroad following the UK's withdrawal from the EU? OQ56360

I've had a number of discussions with colleagues and stakeholders from across the education sector. They've made clear their concerns regarding the UK Government's decision not to participate in Erasmus+ and the shortcomings of the Turing Scheme as a replacement, and the damage that this will do to the ability of Welsh people to study overseas.

Thank you. I thought we were going to have less doom and gloom, but here we go. I'm actually quite happy with the UK Government's budget today and I just thought that we could've shared some of that happiness.

Now, as I hope you'll agree, the announcement of the new £110 million Turing Scheme was excellent news. The pioneering project will support students from across the UK and from all backgrounds to take advantage of the benefits of studying and working abroad from September 2021. In fact, so committed is the UK Government to help level up opportunities for people across the country that the scheme is going to be looking to target students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The UK Government has moved us from being EU focused to having a proactive global education agenda.

As the chief executive of the Association of Colleges has put it,

'The Turing scheme opens the world’s door to work and study placements for college students.'

Now, in your end-of-transition action plan, you note that the Welsh Government would

'continue to press the UK Government for continued participation in Erasmus+ from 2021-22 onwards'.

Will you now revise this position and support our students from disadvantaged backgrounds in Wales in using the Turing Scheme to reach out to the world? And will you just now start to look, Counsel General, at being more progressive? Thank you.

Well, I absolutely share the ambition of anybody who wants to see students from Wales being able to take full advantage of the sorts of international opportunities that were available to them under Erasmus and would be even more widely available under its replacement scheme. I think it's a very important part of our culture and a very important part of our international stance, if I may say. But I think the reality is that the Turing Scheme is significantly underfunded in comparison with Erasmus, and the reality is that it will, in fact, reduce opportunities.

It isn't, as the Member is increasingly fond of referring to, doom and gloom; it is, in fact, the reality that the Turing Scheme will not provide the same opportunities for people in further education or in schools, and it ignores the youth sector almost completely. The Erasmus+ replacement was a very significant enhancement in terms of its outreach to more disadvantaged participants, and that will not be replicated, I'm afraid, in the new arrangements. I don't think it serves anybody to simply pretend that these kinds of inadequate replacements are some sort of glorious alternative; they simply aren't. Now, the Turing Scheme is what it is, but it certainly isn't the kind of scheme that the Member described in her question, as offering the kinds of opportunities that Welsh students have been accustomed to.

My apologies to Vikki Howells, I skipped over question 4. I'll ask Rhun ap Iorwerth to ask his question 7 and then I'll go back to question 4 after the next question. Apologies for that. 

Question 7, Rhun ap Iorwerth.