Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to tackle the skills shortage facing the UK curry industry following the cap on skilled curry chefs from outside the EU.

I have been asked to reply of behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Skills provision must meet the needs of employers. This is why employer-led Trailblazers are currently leading the way in the design and delivery of new more rigorous apprenticeship standards.

Standards relating to several chef roles have already been developed and these are intended to cover specialisms such as Indian cuisine. Employers in the curry industry may therefore wish to contact the Trailblazer leads Kathryn.Porter@Hilton.co.uk or Annette.Allmark@people1st.co.uk for more details of how to get involved in the standards’ development. If they identify a particular skills gap not accommodated by the existing standards, then they could come together and apply to develop a specific standard to meet their needs.