Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the availability of specialist refractory brick layers in the UK.

The job of a refractory engineer, under Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code 5312 (bricklayers and masons) on the eligible occupations list, meets the RQF3 skills threshold for the Skilled Worker route so it is eligible to be sponsored for a Skilled Worker visa, subject to the other criteria under the Route being met.

There is no minimum length of sponsorship and those sponsored for less than 6 months do not need to pay the Immigration Skills Charge or the Immigration Health Surcharge.

Queries about the availability of labour in the UK Labour Market and recruitment issues for businesses should be directed to the Department for Work and Pensions.