Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Internship Scheme To Get More Working Class Students Into Civil Service, published on 1 August 2025, whether children of asylum seekers that (a) are permitted to work and (b) have a parent that is also an asylum seeker would be classified as working class for these purposes.

As we set out in August, we will be opening our Fast Stream Summer Internship Programme exclusively for undergraduates from lower socio-economic backgrounds for 2026. We will determine eligibility based on parental occupation at age 14 in line with guidance from the Social Mobility Commission and the Office for National Statistics definition.

Regardless of whether or not a person is eligible under the social mobility criteria all applicants must meet the Civil Service Nationality rules (CSNR). Under this, asylum seekers are not permitted to work unless they have been waiting for a decision on their claim for 12 months or more and the delay is through no fault of their own. If granted permission to work, they are able to take up employment in jobs included on the Shortage Occupation List (replaced by the Immigration Salary List in April 2024). We do not consider roles offered on the Fast Stream Summer Internship Programme to be included on the ‘Immigration Salary List’.