To have or not to have non-EU students: economic impact and

campaigning strategy

London First Presentation

LSE Seminar 1 March 2013

About London First

•non-profit organisation •mission to make London the best city in the world in which to do business. •200 corporate business and university members

About London First

We aim to influence national and local government policies and investment decisions to support London’s global competitiveness.

London is a great global city

For this to continue we need to continue to be open for business – the free movement of people, capital, goods & services...

...and businesses ability to move people is increasingly constrained:

too many restrictions on who can come and work, study or play in the UK.

Why student immigration policy matters:

London is the most popular city in the world for international students. Higher Education is a major British export.

National picture:

•HE sector is our 7th largest export sector•value of UK education exports £14.1 billion (2008/09)•Of which, £7.9bn HE•Of which £5.2bn non-EU HE students•HE exports could grow to £16.9 billion by 2025

Net economic impact?

•Government questioning the costs of international students – transport, health, housing, job displacement, etc•And the value of long term benefits e.g. soft power•Can we quantify?

The challenge:

The government is seeking to crack down on immigration:

reducing net migration levels from “hundreds of thousands” to “tens of thousands”

They can’t do in EU; so all focus outside:

Year end flowWork, family and students

In flow

Out flow

Year end flows by type and citizenship

Work

In flow

Out flow

Family

In flow

Out flow

Students

In flow

Out flow

Economic Impact of Government Policy

•2011 policy reforms - objective to reduce international students by 25% or up to 80,000

•The Government’s own economic impact assessment in 2011 said policy reform would cost the UK up to £3.6bn over this parliament.

•Leading to a reduced global talent pool

Our goal: evidence based policy making

Collect data properly, so we know who is leaving, as well as entering, and can understand the contribution made by skilled migrants.

The Office for National Statistics is now working on ways to “better count students in immigration flows”. 

The full implementation of e-Borders by 2015

Our goal: an immigration policy that enables... qualified people to study in London

We strongly support crack-down on bogus colleges – students in the UK must be bona fide and studying at accredited institutions, at whatever level.

Immigration rules must be clear and enforcement action proportionate.

And students who are bona fide should be classified as temporary visitors and not treated as migrant.

Our goal: an immigration policy that enables... people to come to London securely and efficiently

UK Border Force given sufficient resources to monitor and process immigration

UK Border Agency given sufficient resources to process visas speedily and effectively

UK Border Agency improve management capability and its operations

Our goal: an immigration policy that attracts... people to come to work, study, visit

Immigration policy aligned to growth agenda

Open for business messaging from Government

UK Border Agency focus on customer service

Campaign

Key elements of campaign

Co-ordinated, prioritised deployment of all of LF’s expertise and attributes

Building support among stakeholder groups

Sustained voice in key media, pro-active and opportunistic

Events that inform, educate and provoke debate

Sensible use of digital and social media

National Media

Hard hitting but constructive

Regular comment & letters in FT, Guardian, even Daily Mail

Telegraph letter off the back of PM’s India Visit

BBC Daily Politics Show

Stakeholder work

Immigration Working Group

Meetings: Immigration Ministers past and present (Mark Harper MP, Damian Green MP), UKBA CEOs past and present (Rob Whiteman, Lin Homer)

Strong alignment with Mayor of London

House of Lords – Baroness Jo Valentine

Coalition building with other stakeholders – across political spectrum

Stakeholder Alliances

Universities UK

London Higher

University of London

Individual universities

Association of Colleges

And a year on?

Visible progress on the issues: – Home Office will have removed students from the migration

target (possibly) Clearer data on student numbers Improvements to visa processes and immigration guidance Positive messaging leading to… Growth in international student numbers coming to UK

LF established as leading the business campaign, in media and political circles and among our members

We will have attracted more support – from our own members and other business leaders

Questions