Dear Colleague,
Welcome to the first monthly update following the return of parliament.
The sector and parliament alike have not had the quietest of Summer breaks, and we’ve headed into this new year with a number of challenges to face. The number one priority for all political parties and institutions will be dealing with the challenges that Brexit presents. This will be a long term issue for us all.
In addition to this the Higher Education and Research Bill continues. The Commons Public Bill Committee has completed its scrutiny and the Bill moves into report stage. The group will be hearing from Professor Andrew Wathey, Jo Johnson MP and Gordon Marsden MP at its next meeting on Wednesday 16 November on this topic. Invites will be sent shortly but we expect the meeting to cover; the changes that have been made to the Bill, what challenges the sector and parliament believe remain for its progression, and how colleagues must prepare for its implementation.
The group had its first meeting of the year on Tuesday this week. A packed event with lively discussion on how the sector should plan for Brexit and some very informative contributions from Professor Paul O’Prey and Professor Philippe Moreillon. Notes from the meeting will of course be shared, including on the website, in due course.
One of the outcomes that the group is hoping for following this meeting is to develop an issues paper on Brexit and the sector. This would be a combination of short essays, exploring the effect of leaving the EU, both positive and negative, covering research, staff recruitment and student recruitment. The aim would be to identify a list of key questions for those that will be negotiating on behalf of the UK, which APPG parliamentary colleagues can push.
We hope to have a paper prepared ahead of the Christmas Recess and would be very grateful for any examples, both local and national, of how Brexit may affect these areas above. In addition to this if our vice-chancellor members have a particular connection to their local MP and are able to share their feelings on these issues with the secretariat that would be incredibly useful.
We hope that we can add value to the debate and provide some support to our sector colleagues.
Roberta Blackman-Woods MP
Chair, All-Party Parliamentary University Group