Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of Government support systems that help refugees and asylum seekers into work.

Once refugee status has been granted, individuals have immediate access to employment support and services.

We recognise that refugees often face additional barriers to labour market participation and are supporting the development of interventions that help to overcome these barriers. This includes developing an integration package which has a strong focus on supporting refugees to move more quickly to self-sufficiency.

DWP employment support includes help with job search and English language skills as well as with skills training, CV writing and securing work experience. Local Jobcentre Managers have considerable flexibility to provide tailored support to meet individual needs as required.

DWP also works closely with businesses expressing an interest in employing people in response to the situations in Afghanistan and Ukraine. We support them to develop job adverts open to any applicant and then share those adverts with Jobcentres and with the Refugee Employment Network, a charity who work with over 200 Refugee Support Organisations across the UK, to ensure these opportunities are widely advertised.