Overseas students bring £31m a year to town’s economy

OVERSEAS students bring more than £31 million a year to Warrington’s economy, according to a new, independent, report
The University of Chester has four campuses – in Chester, Warrington, Ellesmere Port and Neston – and 855 international students, from EU countries and beyond.
They benefit the economies of each area, but only Chester, with £37 million, does better than Warrington.
Their spending power also extends over a much wider area, according to the report by London Economics on behalf of the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) and Kaplan International Pathways.
Across the North West region, international students are shown to generate £1.91 billion.
The cost of hosting overseas students includes education, health and social security. However, the survey demonstrates that the benefits outweigh the costs 10 times over and equate nationally to an additional £310 per UK resident.
The international students’ contribution is measured extensively in terms of factors ranging from: income from tuition fees; the impact of universities spending this on staff, goods and services; students’ non-tuition fee expenditure, such as accommodation, food, transport, books, childcare and entertainment, and the knock-on effects of this and the influence of spending by their families and friends visiting the UK.
Jonathan Pritchard, head of the university’s International Centre, said: “To the University of Chester, international students are an invaluable part of our community, on and outside campus.
“International students as individuals enrich both the areas where they live and the student body, bringing cultural diversity and a greater understanding of the wider world. Their involvement with UK universities can enhance overseas investment, business and trade links and even indirectly aid diplomatic relationships.
“Additionally, this new report quantifies and evaluates the very tangible advantages of having a significant international student presence and we welcome its findings.”
The full report is available at http://www.hepi.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Economic-benefits-of-international-students-by-constituency-Final-11-01-2018.pdf