Following the letter I wrote to Cambridge MP Julian Huppert, here's the response he sent back: 

"Dear Fran,

Thank you for your email – and congratulations again on being
re-elected; I haven’t seen you since.

I am proud to represent a constituency with such a high student
population. We are lucky enough to have excellent FE and HE
institutions in Cambridge and the contribution that students – both UK
and international – make to our communities and local economy cannot
be underestimated.

Cambridge is a centre of excellence for science and technology and
many of the businesses and industries based in the city rely on the
fact that Cambridge attracts some of the brightest and best
international students to study and work here.

I share your concerns about the Governments immigration policies; it
is deeply disappointing that the Home Office’s desperate attempts to
cut net immigration figures have resulted in many excellent
international students being put off from applying to institutions on
the UK. This is a real loss for our economy, as well as being a sad
blow to our reputation as a country which is welcoming and open for
business.

I have raised my concerns with both the Home Secretary and Immigration
Minister on a number of occasions. I have also discussed this issue at
length with students, further education institutions and businesses.
Indeed, later this week I will be meeting with Universities UK to
discuss the work they have been doing with the UK Border Agency with
regards to international students.

We need to do more to encourage capable and intelligent students to
come to the UK, but we also need to look at how students are treated
once they have accepted positions at our universities. I regularly
receive emails and letters from constituents who are experiencing
difficulties with their visa applications or other arrangements and it
is unacceptable that students who are here to study and who make
positive contributions to the city should have to put up with such
poor service; too often with their studies suffering as a result.

I have discussed the problems affecting international students with
the Immigration Minister and Home Secretary on a number of occasions.
As a result of my lobbying, the Minister has agreed to visit Cambridge
in May and I am looking forward to showing him exactly how much
international students benefit Cambridge and to discussing how the
Government can improve this aspect of its immigration policy.

Of course we need to make sure that we have robust and effective
immigration controls, but we must ensure that the brightest and best
who genuinely want to come to the UK to study are able to do so. Our
economy benefits hugely from the contributions made by international
students and I will continue to push for the Government to make it
plain and clear that we are open for business and that international
students are welcome.

Thanks once again for your email and I hope this is helpful in setting
out my views.


Yours sincerely,

Julian Huppert
Member of Parliament for Cambridge"

The original article can be found here: https://www.angliastudent.com/news/article/6658/Give-the-Home-Office-the-Yellow-Card/

Cheers

Fran