The Scottish government¡¯s plan to charge English students tuition fees in the event of independence would ¡°not be legal¡±, according to the universities and science minister.

David Willetts, speaking this morning to MPs from the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee, said it was ¡°pretty clear¡± that European Union rules would not allow an independent Scotland to allow its own students to attend for free yet charge those south of the border.

¡°The view seems pretty clear that if Scotland were to be a separate state within the EU, it would not be legal, because there is a very clear framework within the EU that you can¡¯t discriminate against members of other member states,¡± he said.

The Scottish National Party hopes to convince the EU that it would have a unique case to charge tuition fees to English, Welsh and Northern Irish students in the event of independence in order to prevent an overwhelming number of ¡°fee refugees¡± heading to Scotland from England.

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But Mr Willetts said that it would be ¡°unprecedented¡± if Scotland were able to secure such an agreement from the EU, adding that this was the ¡°view of the vast majority of legal experts¡±.

Mr Willetts was also questioned yesterday by MPs from the Scottish Affairs Committee on the impact of independence on higher education.

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The UK currently has a broad science base, he said. But ¡°if you¡¯re a small country you have to specialise and then you have to take some very tough decisions about what to specialise in¡±, he warned.

Independencealso risked Scotland¡¯s place at the ¡°top table¡± when science ministers from around the world met and decided on international priorities for research.

¡°There are 8,10,12 seats at the table. There aren¡¯t 25 to 30,¡± he said.

Currently, Scotland was represented by the UK minister, but as an independent country might instead be represented by the European Commission, which would be ¡°rather less effective¡±, Mr Willetts claimed.

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david.matthews@tsleducation.com