Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies on the rights of asylum seekers to work of the approach taken in Belgium.

Those who claim asylum in the UK can apply for permission to work in the UK if their claim has been outstanding for 12 months or more, through no fault of their own.

Allowing asylum seekers the right to work sooner could enable migrants to bypass established work visa routes, and may act as an incentive for people to travel here illegally via dangerous routes.

Our policy responds to circumstances unique to the UK and must complement our wider asylum and immigration system.