Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 17 November (HL9917), by what means they are able to introduce a limit on the number of skilled workers able to come to the UK; what is the nature of any parliamentary approval that would be required; and how long would be required for any such changes to take effect.

The Points-Based Immigration System will allow the Government to take back full control of our borders. We will suspend the cap on the number of skilled workers able to come to the UK but other controls, such as salary thresholds and the Immigration Skills Charge, will ensure immigration is managed and considered alongside investment in and protection of the UK’s resident labour market.

We have considered carefully the possible impacts of the new immigration system, making best use of existing evidence and data. However, variables including Coronavirus are not the only uncertainty. We will need time to monitor the impacts on migration flows and the labour market, and whether this is in line with our detailed planning assumptions, before making any changes.

Any limit could be introduced through changes to the Immigration Rules, which are subject to negative resolution in both Houses. Changes are conventionally laid before Parliament 21 days before they take effect. The cap on skilled workers will be suspended when the new Rules come into force on1 December, but the Home Office processes required to enforce such a control will remain in place.