Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum applicants have been granted permission to work in the last 12 months.

Asylum seekers are not allowed to work in the UK unless their claim has been outstanding for at least 12 months through no fault of their own. Those who are granted permission to work are restricted to jobs on the Shortage Occupation List. The policy is designed to protect the resident labour market so that access to employment is prioritised for British citizens and lawful residents, including those granted refugees status. We have no plans to change this policy.

The data requested on the number of asylum seekers granted permission to work is only held on paper case files or within the notes sections of the Home Office's databases. This data is not aggregated in national reporting systems, so information on the number of asylum seekers allowed to work could only be obtained through a manual case search at disproportionate cost.