Committee publication · Correspondence · 22 April 2026
Correspondence from Minister for Science, Innovation and Nuclear and Minister for the Indo-Pacific, re: Follow-ups from 17 March oral evidence session on Science diplomacy, 9 April 2026
From: Science, Innovation and Technology Committee
Inquiry: Science diplomacy
Summary
Two UK Government ministers respond to the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee's questions from a 17 March oral evidence session on science diplomacy. The letter addresses Chevening Scholarship restrictions affecting four countries, DSIT's role in government IT contract oversight, ODA budget reductions and their research funding impact, and financial issues at the Science and Technology Facilities Council.
Key findings
- New Home Office visa legislation effective 26 March 2026 bans study visas for nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan; Chevening programmes in these countries have closed indefinitely, though Fellowships remain available.
- FCDO sought but failed to secure Chevening scholar exemptions from Home Office due to evidence of visa abuse by scholars.
- DSIT manages government digital and technology spend controls requiring assurance for projects over £100K (public-facing) or £1m (other); high-risk or novel cases require Minister for Digital Government and Data approval.
- FCDO protected legally binding commitments and live contracts during ODA budget reduction to 0.3% GNI by 2027/28; government has not modelled job losses, citing cyclical and distributed R&D spending.
- DSIT and UKRI to provide separate joint letter addressing Science and Technology Facilities Council redundancy modelling and foreign exchange hedging difficulties.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Lord Vallance of Balham, Seema Malhotra MP, Dame Chi Onwurah MP, Home Office, FCDO, DSIT, UKRI, Science and Technology Facilities Council
Notable line
“FCDO worked closely with the Home Office ahead of the announcement but were unable to secure an exemption for Chevening (or Commonwealth) scholars given there was evidence of visa abuse by scholars.”
Key Quotes
“… individuals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan will be unable to obtain a UK study visa from 26th March”
“FCDO worked closely with the Home Office ahead of the announcement but were unable to secure an exemption for Chevening (or Commonwealth) scholars given there was evidence of visa abuse by scholars.”
“… digital and technology spend controls (managed by DSIT on behalf of HM Treasury) require that spend above £100K (public facing) or £1m (everything else) is assured against cross-Government standards and best practice guidance.”
“We have not modelled how future cuts will impact jobs as this is hard to determine, particularly given our R&D spend is cyclical and spread across different themes and sectors.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗