Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Immigration Policies: Impact on Scotland

Monday 19 December 2022 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Government's points-based system aims to welcome people to fill skills gaps and support public services across the UK.
  • The Migration Advisory Committee's annual report notes the impact of immigration policies on various economic sectors.
  • A constituent from Syria working in renewable energy research faces restrictions on employment and further study due to asylum seeker policies.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Anum Qaisar
Immigration Scotland
Context

The question arises from concerns about the potential adverse effects of government immigration policies on the demographic balance and workforce availability in Scotland.

Question

What assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of the Government's immigration policies on the (a) population of and (b) availability of labour in Scotland?

Answer from Robert Jenrick

Our points-based system, with a wide range of eligible occupations spanning many economic sectors, works for the whole of the United Kingdom by welcoming people to fill skills gaps, support our public services and boost our economy. As noted by the Migration Advisory Committee's annual report, immigration policy cannot be a complete solution to population movements within the UK, or labour shortages. It is for the Scottish Government to use their policy levers to address those issues more effectively.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer does not provide a direct assessment of the impact on Scotland's population and labor market but refers to overall immigration policy effectiveness.

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Q2 Anum Qaisar
Asylum & Refugees Scotland Business & Trade
Context

A constituent from Scotland is a renewable energy researcher who is an asylum seeker facing employment and study restrictions imposed by the government, which impacts labour shortages in various sectors.

Question

One of my constituents is a renewable energy researcher from Syria, and he is struggling with the Government's restrictive policies on the employment of asylum seekers. He is unable to work or pursue further study in his field. Given that the shortage of labour impacts all sectors of the economy, does the Minister agree that the UK Government should make the rules on asylum seekers seeking employment less restrictive to support the Scottish labour market?

Answer from Robert Jenrick

No, I do not, because we want to ensure that deterrence is diffused throughout our asylum system. That means making the UK a significantly less attractive destination for asylum seekers, and particularly for those asylum shopping, than our EU neighbours. For that reason, we do not want to see asylum seekers working in the British economy. We want to see their cases decided as quickly as possible. If they are approved, of course they should be welcomed into the UK and make a positive contribution to British society. If they are declined, they should be removed.

Not addressed: The answer avoids addressing whether employment rules for asylum seekers should be relaxed to support the labour market in Scotland.

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