Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of a £30,000 annual salary threshold for intermediate and high-skilled migrant workers on small towns that rely upon skilled migrant workers in the Yorkshire and the Humber; and if he will make a statement.

The Government is committed to developing a future borders and immigration system that will cater for all sectors and regions of the UK.

The Migration Advisory Committee recommended retaining existing salary thresholds. However, we have been clear that we want to engage with businesses and employers before determining the level at which salary thresholds should be set. Currently, graduate entry jobs are already subject to a lower salary threshold and we will continue with that approach – and we are considering whether some occupations, such as those recognised on the Shortage Occupation List, should be subject to a lower salary threshold.

We have launched engagement over 2019 with a wide range of stakeholders across the UK, and we will be listening to their views on the key proposals in the White Paper before taking final policy decisions on the future system, which will be implemented after 2021.