Westminster Hall debate on post-study work schemes for Scotland
2 December 2016
The Scottish Affairs Committee's report into post-study work schemes will be considered in a Westminster Hall Debate on Thursday 8 December.
- Watch Parliament TV: Post-study work schemes Westminster Hall debate
- Inquiry: Post-study work schemes
- Scottish Affairs Committee
Debates
Thursday 8 December, Westminster Hall
At 1.30pm
- Post-study work schemes and the Government Response
Facebook Q&A
Ahead of the Westminster Hall debate, Committee Chair Pete Wishart will be doing a live Q&A on the UK Parliament's facebook page from 3–3.45pm on Wednesday 7 December.
Are you an international student studying at a Scottish university? A business looking to recruit graduate students? This is an opportunity for you to ask Pete Wishart MP what the Scottish Affairs Committee has been doing on this issue, and what he thinks of the Government's response.
Visit the UK Parliament facebook page or use the hashtag #AskScottishAffairs to join the conversation.
Background
The report found compelling evidence that Scotland would benefit from a more relaxed visa regime, enabling Scottish universities to attract students in the highly competitive global education market and businesses to fill vacancies in high-skilled fields.
The Committee recently published a report (Demography of Scotland and the implications for devolution) which highlighted the challenges the country faces. This includes Scotland's ageing population, and slower population growth and lower life expectancy than the rest of the UK. In particular, many people move to Scotland in their late teens and early 20s but there is a noticeable trend of people graduating in Scotland and leaving, which post-study work schemes could help to address.
In its report on post-study work schemes, the Committee found that improving opportunities for international students to stay in Scotland. This viewpoint has almost universal support in Scotland and has been backed by business, industry, trade unions and government. However, in their response to the Committee's report, the UK Government rejected calls to improve current arrangements, arguing that current visa rules were sufficient for the whole United Kingdom.
Chair's comments
Committee Chair Pete Wishart commented:
"Our reports into post-study work schemes and the demography of Scotland have underlined the case for reconsidering how current immigration arrangements meet the needs of Scotland. Our population is growing too slowly to adequately fill the skilled jobs being created and current visa rules do not allow sufficient levels of migration to compensate.
International students make an important contribution to Scotland's higher education sector, and represent an invaluable source of skilled workers for Scottish businesses. There is a clear consensus in Scotland that post-study work opportunities for international students should be improved, but the Government has so far ruled out revisiting the issue.
This debate is an important opportunity to revisit the recommendations we made in our Report, and challenge the Government on its response. I look forward to hearing the views of fellow MPs about this important issue."
About Westminster Hall debates
Westminster Hall debates give MPs and opportunity to raise local or national issues and receive a response from the responsible government minister.
All MPs are welcome to take part and engage in constructive debate on the topic at hand.
Further information
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