Dear Colleagues and Students,
I know that many of you are concerned about the possible implications of the decision to leave the European Union (EU), which is currently scheduled for 23:00 on Friday 31 October 2019.
In our discussions with Government, we have advocated the importance of achieving an orderly transition as the UK ceases its membership of the EU. This is important as retaining close connectivity with our European neighbours remains essential to our future education and research relationships.
Our priority throughout the Brexit process has been to support all of our people; staff and students, and protect the Southampton community from uncertainty and anxiety. This continues to be the case.
We recently hosted an EU citizens & Brexit information session in Southampton – you can access the video here. This event featured an immigration lawyer who talked about the ‘Settled Status’ process and the no-deal Brexit scenario. There continues to be a strong recommendation that EU citizens currently residing in the UK should apply for ‘Settled or Pre-Settled Status’ before the deadline.
Both the European Staff Support Network and SUSU are actively working to support colleagues and students from European countries. If you have any questions regarding Brexit and the University of Southampton, please email [email protected]
Although the direction of Brexit continues to be uncertain at this point, the University has established a Brexit Task Force, with representation from all impacted Professional Service directorates and Faculties. This group has put considerable effort into considering and preparing for possible scenarios that will place Southampton in the best possible position for the UK’s exit from the European Union.
The group has considered local business continuity plans and areas that might be impacted such as our supply chain, online systems and data protection. We have lines of communication open to City and County Councils, transport providers, the NHS and other higher education providers in the region. We are also communicating directly with our own European partners, to emphasise our ongoing commitment to them.
European travel arrangements after 31 October will also be closely monitored and, in conjunction with our travel provider, we will be able to provide guidance to reflect any change in requirements.
National agreements that are affected by government policy such as Erasmus+ and European research grants are of great importance and information will be updated should their current status be affected.
For more information on these and other affected areas please visit our Brexit advice, which can also be accessed from the link on the University home page.
I want to thank all in our community for their patience as this difficult political process evolves and for all the hard work being done across our University to ensure that we remain prepared for all possible outcomes. We will continue to communicate with you in the coming weeks as the situation develops.
With best wishes,
Ian
Ian Dunn
Chief Operating Officer
