To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his oral answer of 9 September 2019, Official Report, column 476, which higher education institutions the Government is working closely with; and what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the diversity of (a) the higher education sector and (b) small and specialist education institutions in the event of the UK leaving the EU without an agreement.

The Department for Education is working closely with higher education (HE) representative bodies – including Universities UK, GuildHE, Independent HE, Russell Group and others, representing the full spectrum of HE providers across the UK – to ensure we communicate the government’s Brexit guidance, including on No Deal, effectively to providers. Through the Office for Students, we have also communicated guidance to all HE providers on its register for providers.

On 28 October, we updated our GOV.UK page to help providers understand the action they need to take. This links to wider government guidance on the range of issues providers need to consider, from helping EU staff and students to continue living in the UK after 2020 to how to register for the government’s guarantee on Erasmus+ funding. This page can be found here and we will continue to keep it updated: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-exit-no-deal-preparations-for-higher-education-institutions/eu-exit-no-deal-preparations-for-higher-education-institutions.