Universities need a “single point of contact” for research security
MPs have criticised the government’s lack of explicit strategy on the UK’s relationship with China – and suggested that UK universities are “missing out on potentially valuable research collaboration opportunities” as a result.
The House of Commons Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee’s report on China and the UK economy homes in on the fact that Labour conducted a “China audit” following the 2024 election – but then chose to keep the audit’s findings confidential, citing national security concerns.
Based on evidence received during its inquiry on the matter, the committee suggests that UK organisations are finding it hard to scope collaborations and plan for the long-term “when the government’s rules and limits are unclear.” The report calls for a national risk framework – potentially based on a red-amber-green system denoting the sensitivity of different kinds of collaboration – to guide decision-making on where and how UK businesses and universities engage with China:
“It must clearly demarcate which areas of engagement with China are low risk, which activity represents greater or variable risk, and which should be regarded as off limits. Government must communicate these categories clearly to businesses and universities.”
A separate section on research security argues that the current system “lacks agility and speed”, with additional resource for the government's Research Collaboration Advice Team (RCAT) recommended.
Based on evidence from both Universities UK International and the University of Edinburgh, the committee also queries why the Department for Education announced a separate Academic Interference Reporting Route earlier this year – intended to allow senior university staff to report concerns about foreign interference directly to the government and security services – given that RCAT already exists:
“The existence of two separate “single points of contact” for universities also risks causing confusion and contributing to delays.”
The report argues that the two routes should be merged together – a move which would also serve to clarify the territorial scope of the new reporting route, given that it has been promoted by the England-only Department for Education.
Overall the committee concludes that universities should be well-placed to help the UK economy achieve much-needed export growth, given their attractiveness to Chinese students. But the lack of guidance from the government about acceptable engagement has, in effect, “resulted in a transfer of risk” to both universities and UK private sector companies.