Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Viscount Camrose on 20 November (HL Deb col 594), what percentage of people working in research and development (R&D) are expected to be recruited from overseas by 2027; and what immigration constraints apply to those seeking to work in the R&D sector in the UK.

The Government does not hold any data on or set a specific target for the percentage of R&D talent it expects to have recruited from abroad by 2027.

The Government’s immigration policy applies to R&D talent wanting to locate to the UK. The Government aims to improve the UK’s attractiveness to overseas R&D talent, subject to meeting wider objectives on overall net migration to the UK.

The UK’s points-based immigration system continues to work well. For example, the Global Talent visa has seen a 76% increase in visas issued for the year ending June 2023.