Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill

With respect, that is entirely wrong in most instances. I was not traducing or undermining anything that the universities had said. I fully recognise that there are difficulties in the sector. What I dispute is the causal link between the Bill and visa fees. I spent some 14 years in the sector, so I know and understand it. I also understand that it is now entirely different from how it was then. My hon. Friend’s other point is important in the context of the points system and the five-year plan. There is a separate tier for students. There is a far stronger accreditation system, rather than the simple flick-switch that caused some of the early difficulties that the hon. Member for North Thanet mentioned, where an institute is good or bad with nothing in between—no gradation, no notion of its past experience or anything else. There are also the elements to improve decision making. Those issues go to the heart of how to move on and to improve the welcome for overseas students. We are seeking to address all the other elements that are difficult for the sector through the joint education task force and close working with Universities UK and others, including, it is often forgotten, the FE sector. Therefore, I do not accept many of the premises that have been put forward. It must be about making decision making better, rather than hanging on to an appeals process that often means that the appeal is heard, if one is lucky, some two and a half years down the line.