"I thank my noble friend for that question. She is asking about the partners of highly skilled people being required to earn settlement in their own right, as part of plans announced by the Home Secretary last week. As my noble friend referred to, those plans are currently subject to …..." Lord Lemos - View Speech
"The Government have published assessments estimating the impact of high-skilled migrants on the UK economy when changes to the Immigration Rules have been made. Skilled workers are estimated to be net contributors to the economy, particularly those in higher-skilled occupations...." Lord Lemos - View Speech
"As I just said in response to my noble friend, this is all currently under consultation. We will, of course, look at all the routes in the way the noble Lord asks me to. To be clear, salary levels are not the only things that will influence our approach to …..." Lord Lemos - View Speech
"I thank the noble Lord for that question. The Government look at all this in the round. As I think everyone in your Lordship’s House knows, the overall intention is to reduce net migration, but we are committed to the high skills routes and I am very happy to provide …..." Lord Lemos - View Speech
"How could I disagree? Let me make the situation absolutely clear. The Government, as everybody knows, are moving to an earned settlement approach but we are committed to increasing the numbers of exactly the kind of people the noble Lord refers to. They do not have a big impact on …..." Lord Lemos - View Speech
"No, I do not agree, as it happens. I feel strongly that we have done the right things from our side on the tax changes—although it is way above my pay grade. I am sure everyone knows that the highly talented, the innovators and the entrepreneurs are internationally mobile, and …..." Lord Lemos - View Speech
"I thank my noble friend for that question. I pay tribute to his experience and commitment in this area. I too have history in the prison system, as it were: I was lead non-executive director of the Prison Service for many years, so I know first-hand some of the recruitment …..." Lord Lemos - View Speech
"I thank the noble Lord for that question. It is an issue that he has raised before, and one about which I am concerned. Indeed, I addressed it in my maiden speech. As I have already said, we announced on 14 October that we will aim to double the number …..." Lord Lemos - View Speech
"Yes, it absolutely would, and that is what the Government are seeking. My noble friend will have noted some of the announcements on apprenticeships in the Budget. The skilled workers route is by far the largest route for these high skills; it is more than 250,000 people. We need to …..." Lord Lemos - View Speech