Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Migration Advisory Committee’s Rapid review of the Immigration Salary List, published on 23 February 2024, for what reason his Department has not implemented the recommendation on the use of the Immigration Salary List beyond the skilled worker route for asylum seekers.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Replacing the Shortage Occupation List with the new Immigration Salary List will maintain the important principles that underpin our approach to permission to work and is in line with wider changes to the Immigration Rules.
Unrestricted access to employment could act as an incentive for more migrants to choose to come here illegally, with many making dangerous journeys across the Channel and supporting the business model of evil people smugglers, rather than claim asylum in the first safe country they reach.
The Government considers it important to distinguish between those who need protection and those seeking to work here who can apply for a work visa under the Immigration Rules. Aligning asylum seekers’ permission to work with the Skilled Worker route could undermine the legal routes for those seeking to work in the UK.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of replacing the Shortage Occupation List with the Immigration Salary List on employment opportunities for asylum seekers who are eligible to work.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Secretary commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to carry out a rapid review of the new Immigration Salary List (ISL) ahead of the Spring Immigration Rules. Appendix Immigration Salary List can be found in the Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 590, published on 14 March 2024. We will keep the list under review and the MAC will carry out a fuller review later in the year.
Replacing the new ISL will maintain the important principles that underpin our approach to permission to work by an individual’s asylum claim still being outstanding for 12 months or more, through no fault of their own. This includes the need to avoid creating perverse incentives for people to make dangerous journeys to the UK and to not undercut the resident labour market.