Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of existing youth mobility schemes on economic growth in each (a) country of the UK and (b) year since 2010.

The Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) provides valuable cultural exchange opportunities for young people aged 18-30 (or 18-35 for some nationalities) to experience life in another country for up to two or three years, and to make lifelong ties and friendships overseas.

Each YMS is subject to a bilateral, reciprocal arrangement designed to offer cultural exchange. It is therefore not designed, nor intended, to be a route for economic growth or to address any specific labour shortages, although individuals participating in the scheme are able to work if they wish to do so.