1. Brexit and colleges November 2017
Julian Gravatt AoC deputy chief executive

2. Brexit in one slide Article 50 timetable: March 2017 to March 2019
First stage
Exit fee
EU citizens
Ireland
Second stage
Trade
Relationship
Transition
Single Market
Four freedoms
Goods
Services
Capital
Movement
Implemented via Treaty & ECJ
Customs Union
eg. Turkey
Single Market
EFTA, Norway
EU Withdrawal Bill
Cuts and pastes EU law into UK law
Free Trade Agreements
Canada, South Korea

3. The negotiations
6 rounds so far (June, July, Aug, Sept, Oct, 9-10 Nov)
EU Council 19/20 Oct 2017 – not enough progress
PM statement “within touching distance” of a Withdrawal Agreement covering citizen’s rights, Northern Ireland and the exit fee
EU Council 14/15 Dec 2017 – decision on whether to negotiate the future relationship and the “time-limited implementation period” (ie transition)
Exit date: March 2019
Transtion ends: March 2021? December 2020?

4. Colleges and the EU, some facts
Out of 2 million
40,000 EU27 students (2%)
Out of £7 billion
£ mil income (1%)
280 Colleges
Goods & services
20% VAT
Education exempt
Public procurement
Out of 175,000 people
7,000 EU27 staff (4%)

5. Students – where we are now
School age
All children of school age entitled to a school place regardless of migration status
Different school, college & apprentice rules
Adults
Equal access to vocational and higher education for all EU citizens – rights enhanced by ECJ cases
Funding, student loans and apprenticeships all limited to those with 3 year’s ordinary residence

6. Staff – where we are now EU citizens Freedom of movement within EU
Rights originally for workers but were extended
Mutual recognition of qualifications (regulated roles)
ECJ rulings have “direct effect” in UK law
Brexit
Negotiations over UK resident EU27 nationals
Issue is over citizen’s rights (not just those at work)

7. Citizen’s rights EU citizens already here
Settled status – ability to work, access benefits etc
New “streamlined, low cost” registration system
Registration of 3 million between 2019 and 2021
Some areas of UK/EU difference on their rights
Changes to rules in future
Immigration Bill needed in 2018 (limited in scope)
Migration Advisory Cttee enquiry on EEA workers
Major changes unlikely until end of transition (ie 2021)

8. The EU and UK education policy
“EU work on education, training and youth policy has had little impact on UK….In its more prescriptive form of EU recommendations, it is largely invisible outside the bureaucratic structures of Whitehall and Brussels”
“the EU Treaty provisions on Free Movement, Employment and Procurement can be important factors in the development and implementation of national policy in education and training”
UK FCO Review of Balance of Competences between UK and EU in Education and Vocational Training, 2014

9. Taking back control of the rules
VAT
Options to reform
Procurement
Outside EU
Still in WTO
Curriculum
Home grown in England
Ofsted
Home grown in England
State aid
UK historically
opposed
Employment
Chance to deregulate
Funding
Home grown in England
Targets
OECD more influential

10. ESF – where are we now A long established programme since 1970s
Multi year programme, match funding by national government, emphasis on closing regional gaps
Objectives
- making employment of workers easier
- improving geographical & occupational mobility
- facilitating adaptation to industrial change
UK 2014 to 2020 operational Plan
- €1.7 bil for employment, €1.3 bil for skills
- (E)SFA manages 2016 to 2018 contracts for LEPs
College income varies each year £ mil

11. Shared Prosperity Fund
Conservative manifesto and the SPF
Designed to reduce inequalities
Help to deliver sustainable, inclusive growth
“Cheaper to administer, low in bureaucracy and targeted where it is needed most”
Next steps
Consultation on SPF before end of the 2017
Likely to be part of Industrial Strategy paper
SPF might come in by ?

12. Erasmus+ Another long established programme since 1980s
UK programme 2014 to 2020 worth €1 bil
Opportunities to study, work, teach etc abroad
2018 applications open (
Vocational ed funding c€30mil/yr (10-15%)
Uncertainty on future UK participation or plans

13. UK colleges in Europe
Colleges listed their top 5 priority countries in AoC international survey
66 countries named
EU27 37% of top 5

14. Possible college Brexit asks
Some fiscally neutral suggestions
Continuing free access to education up to age of 19
Levy funds available for UK based EU27 apprentices
No visa obstacles for EU27 national teachers
Disclosure and barring data sharing to continue
Shared prosperity fund – same funds, simpler rules
Outward student mobility supported
Exclusion of non-traded education services from public procurement laws
VAT relief for 16 to 18 education (funded by VAT on private school or international student fees?)

15. Brexit and colleges Changes to 19+ funding, loan &
levy rules possibly in 2019/20
Shared Prosperity Fund to replace ESF
Uncertainty on Erasmus+
280 English colleges
No change to VAT, procurement etc
Possible disruption to supply chains in 2019
EU27 staff & families need to register

16. Finally…. Wider issues There could be an economic shock in 2019
Politicians will want to control net migration
A weaker economy will mean less need for action
Employers may try to replace (migrant) labour
UK should aim to be self-sufficient in skills
More information
BBC Radio Iplayer “Brexit: A Guide for the Perplexed”