Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on the effect of the closure of the Post Study Work visa route on start-up companies.

The Home Office works closely at Ministerial and official level with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and other interested Departments on significant changes to economic migration policy, including the closure of the Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) route in 2012. This closure was also the subject of a full public consultation from December 2010 to January 2011.

Start-up companies can benefit from the new provisions for graduates the Government has introduced, including easier switching into the Tier 2 skilled work route as well as the new Graduate Entrepreneur route, which permits working for start-up companies.