Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will review the system for determining the number of points required for a certificate of sponsorship for overseas doctors seeking work in UK hospitals.

The independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has determined that a number of doctors, including consultants specialising in clinical radiology and emergency medicine, are in national shortage and they appear on the published Shortage Occupation List (SOL) which sits under Tier 2, our main immigration route for non-EEA workers.

Applications for jobs on the SOL receive the highest priority – and the highest number of points – when allocating a Tier 2 (General) place.

The SOL is kept under regular review, with the most recent changes made to it last April.