Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-03-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the effect on higher education providers of charging fees to international students for use of the NHS.

Mr David Willetts

The Home Office published an impact assessment on its website on the 11 October 2013 entitled ‘Regulating migrant access to health services in the UK’, in which it estimates the impact of implementing a health surcharge as outlined in the Immigration Bill. The Home Office predicts that implementing a health surcharge could cause Tier 4 visa grants to fall by approximately 830, which will have an impact on higher education providers of approximately £11 million per year. The surcharge is £200 per annum for most migrants however, to reflect their contribution to UK growth, a concession was factored into the Immigration Bill for students – they will pay £150 per annum rather than the full cost.

BIS will continue to work closely with the Home Office and the higher education sector to monitor the effects of the surcharge on student numbers and to ensure that the impact is manageable.