© Provided by The Independent UK goods exports to the EU plunged by a record 40.7 per cent in January after the end of the Brexit transition period, official figures show.
In the same month, UK gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have fallen by 2.9 per cent, as government restrictions reduced economic activity, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.
Imports also fell, by £8.9bn overall (21.6 per cent), while imports from the EU dropped £6.6bn (28 per cent).
The end of the transition period coincided with the spread of a new strain of Covid-19 in the UK, causing lorry drivers to need tests to cross the border at the English Channel, while another national lockdown was also imposed at the beginning of the month.
The government has now opened funding applications for its post-Brexit replacement of the Erasmus student exchange programme.
The £110 million Turing scheme, which will fund global exchanges for about 35,000 UK students from September, will target disadvantaged students and those from under-represented areas.
University students from disadvantaged backgrounds are set to receive a maximum of £490 per month towards living costs, alongside money towards travel.
£15bn spending cut is 'change in forecast', Sunak says
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UP NEXT