As part of the UK, universities in Scotland are thriving. We have more universities in the world’s top 200 per head of population than any other country - backed by big funding from across the UK. This world-leading success is something to be celebrated. It means more opportunities for students, the best support for researchers, and promises new cures in the future. Scotland has a long and proud history of excellence and success in research, innovation and discovery. Every day Scottish inventions improve the lives of people across the world. We can rightly take enormous pride in our history in the fields of medicine, science, engineering and the arts. Through their research excellence Scottish institutions receive over 13% of UK Research Council funding which is disproportionate to our population share of around 8%. The same is true of UK Charities funding research here in Scotland. The Research Councils have themselves spoken out against the "misleading" way the SNP have portrayed their view. They are in fact quite clear: "should there be a vote for independence the current system could not continue." A huge legal problem hangs over the SNP's white paper proposals to exclusively charge English and Welsh students tuition fees if we leave the UK and join the EU. No other EU state charges the students of another EU state tuition fees. The consequences of this are clear. The SNP have admitted under FOI law, that were this proposal to be struck down as legal experts predict, the flood of students from England would mean a 97% fall in places for Scottish students. This would affect the opportunities open to every student in Scotland, or require the introduction of tuition fees for Scottish students. The SNP want us to believe that we can walk away from the UK but continue to access UK funding, continue to be part of the world renowned UK research system, and contrary to EU law continue to charge students from the rest of the UK tuition fees. As leading researchers and legal experts have said, this is simply not credible. Our universities are a major industry in their own right contributing £6.7 billion to the Scottish economy and employing 142,000 people. They also enrich Scottish cultural life. It does not make sense to put their success at risk for what the nationalists admit is no direct benefit to universities. We can have the best of both worlds: a strong Scottish Parliament taking decisions about our universities and the benefit of being part of a large, thriving UK research system which delivers disproportionate funding to our world-leading universities.

The 5 things you need to know

BIG FUNDING – As part of the UK we have unrestricted access to UK Research Council and UK Government funding. This means that our funding reaches as high as our excellence allows, and not as far as a smaller budget would stretch. Leaving the UK would put research funding in Scotland at risk.

Universities

FREE TUITION – As part of the UK the Scottish Parliament determines the level of tuition fees in Scottish universities. EU legal experts, the European Commission, and the former Director of Universities Scotland have all said that the SNP's fee proposals to charge students from elsewhere in the UK would be illegal. For young Scots, leaving the UK would mean either the introduction of fees or a significant reduction in places.

MEDICAL RESEARCH – UK charitable organisations invest around £1.1 billion in UK research every year, 13% of which is spent on research in Scotland. If we go it alone, UK charities would be forced to take a view on whether and how much funding Scotland should receive. It may be challenging for many of them to finance research in a foreign country when the majority of their donations come from elsewhere in the UK. World-leading medical researchers have raised these concerns, with the Wellcome Trust stating that their funding would need to be reviewed.

PENSIONS – Leaving the UK means that England, Wales and Northern Ireland would become foreign countries, therefore Scottish academics USS pension would become a complex cross-border scheme. If we go it alone, EU rules mean that they would be forced to fully fund schemes immediately rather than through a staged recovery plan. The USS has confirmed there may be “considerable implications” from leaving the UK.

RISK WITHOUT REWARD – The UK research system is internationally renowned and respected, and has been ranked 2nd globally for world-class research. It does not make sense to leave one of the best research systems in the world and put our world leading universities at risk.

What the experts say Research funding

Nine former principals of Scottish universities: “As part of the UK our funding will reach as high

as our excellence allows, not as far as the budget stretches. If we leave the UK then we put this hard won additional funding at risk… Our considered opinion is that the risks and uncertainties of leaving the UK would very considerably outweigh any potential benefits.”

Professor Louise Richardson, principal of the University of St Andrews: "If we were cut off from national research councils, it would be catastrophic for this institution. We would lose our top academics. We would fail to attract serious academics.”

Professor Paul Boyle, Chief Executive of the ESRC: “I don’t think there’s a single example

internationally of a single research system that spans more than one country.”

Research Councils UK: “Should there be a vote for independence the current system could not continue.”

Professor Chris Hawkesworth, Vice Principal (Research), St Andrews University: “The debate over

independence is a cause for uncertainty… The implication is that with time an independent Scotland would have one, rather than three universities in the top 100.”

UK Science Minister David Willetts: “The UK government's position is clear: if Scotland left the UK, the current framework for research could not continue… the rest of the UK would not be using the rest of the UK’s research budget to pay for institutions in Scotland.”

Tuition Fees

A spokesperson for the European Commission: “Unequal treatment based on nationality is regarded as discrimination which is prohibited by Article 18 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, whenever such treatment falls within the scope of Treaty. This is the case for the conditions of access to education, including tuition fees.”

Jan Figel, former deputy Prime Minister of Slovakia who was European Commissioner for Education, Training & Culture: “This would be illegal. This would be a breach of the treaty… I cannot imagine as a politician or former EU Commissioner that in the sensitive area of educational openness, access and non-discrimination, the 28 countries would allow this sort of clause.”

Paul Beaumont, Professor of European Union and Private International Law at the University of Aberdeen: “It is hard to see the Court of Justice of the EU accepting the Scottish Government’s arguments as to how this overt discrimination against students from rUK can be justified. There is therefore a substantial hole in the Scottish Government’s plans for funding higher education.”

Aidan O’Neill QC, an expert in EU law: “That would be, post-independence and post continued membership of the European Union, direct discrimination on grounds of nationality which is prohibited as a matter of a fundamental principle of EU law.”

Jim Sillars, former SNP Deputy Leader: "If you're talking in the context of the European Union,

English students will be legally entitled to what a Polish student gets, which is free fees. This would go to the European Courts of Justice."

Murray Pittock, Academics for Yes: “The Scottish government has obtained some legal advice based on the case that could be made that EU and rest-of-UK students may arrive in such numbers that it would be a threat to the local economy. It’s hard to see that it would apply in most subjects.”

Medical research

Joint letter from fourteen senior scientists: “Growing out of our profound commitment to Scotland are grave concerns that the country does not sleepwalk into a situation that jeopardises its present success in the highly competitive arena of biomedical research… Scotland’s research interests will be much better served by remaining within the common research area called the United Kingdom.”

The Wellcome Trust: “Our future commitment, and the eligibility of Scottish institutions for trust support, would need to be reviewed. There is no guarantee that our funding would be maintained at current levels. The majority of the trust’s awards are provided by researchers to UK institutions; the funding that we provide overseas is largely focused at low and middle-income countries.”

Sharmila Nebhrajani, the Chief Executive of the Association of Medical Research Charities, which

represents more than 120 charities: “Scotland punches above its weight in life sciences and as a recipient of medical-research funding. My worry is the uncertainty and the risk to funding in that interim period, which could last some time. It may be that going forward, people would then think twice about setting up an institute in what became an independent country. It may mitigate towards grant funding.”