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Written Question
Visas: Music
Wednesday 29th November 2023

Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department is taking steps to help support the visa applications of (a) artists and (b) other professionals for the WOMEX international music convention in October 2024.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

Officials from UK Visas and Immigration have already engaged with the organisers of the WOMEX International Music Convention (2024) in August this year. UKVI officials will continue to work with the organisers to support the visa application process for artists and other professionals.


Written Question
Social Services: Vacancies
Thursday 28th October 2021

Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2021 to Question 53853, on Social Services: Vacancies, if she will add all social care workers to the shortage occupation list alongside senior care workers in response to workforce shortages across the care sector.

Answered by Kevin Foster

Senior care workers were added to the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) in April 2021, joining other key health and care occupations such as nurses, occupational therapists and social workers. Yet we do not believe it would be appropriate to create an immigration route which gives social care employers an opportunity to recruit at or near the minimum wage, with no work based training requirements, as an alternative to offering the type of rewarding packages which will attract UK based workers.

In July, I commissioned the MAC to review the impact of ending free movement on the social care sector. The MAC have issued a call for evidence with stakeholders and we look forward to receiving their report in April 2022


Written Question
Social Services: Vacancies
Friday 22nd October 2021

Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will add social care workers to the shortage occupation list in response to workforce shortages across the care sector.

Answered by Kevin Foster

Several occupations within the social care sector are currently on the shortage occupation list including senior care workers.

The introduction of the Health and Care visa in August 2020 made it quicker and easier for regulated health and care professionals – including Senior Care Workers - and their dependants to secure their visa.

We have commissioned the MAC to look further at the issues surrounding the ending of free movement on the social care sector and we look forward to receiving their report next year.

Beyond the Points Based System, there is the existing resident labour market, which includes those who come to the UK through our Youth Mobility Schemes (which we are looking to expand), our new British National (Overseas) visa for those from Hong Kong, dependants of those arriving under the expanded skilled worker route, as well as over 6 million applications under the EU Settlement Scheme and those who arrive through family routes, who all have full access to the UK labour market.

Our Plan for Jobs is helping people across the country retrain, build new skills and get back into work. The Government encourages all sectors to make employment more attractive to UK domestic workers through offering training, careers options, and improve terms and conditions, including ensuring care workers are offered the rewarding packages they deserve and which are common in other sectors, rather than turning to immigration policy for an alternative to doing so.


Written Question
Visas: Turkey
Monday 9th November 2020

Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2020 to Question 73764 on Visas: Turkey, when she plans to publish guidance for ECAA applicants who have been unable to return to the UK or renew their leave because of illness or travel restrictions due to covid-19.

Answered by Kevin Foster

The Government remains committed to ensuring people are not unfairly impacted in terms of their immigration status as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Further guidance for European Communities Association Agreement (ECAA) applicants who have been unable to return to the UK or renew their leave because of illness or travel restrictions due to Covid-19 will be published shortly.

Under the EU Withdrawal Agreement, the UK’s commitments to Turkish nationals exercising rights under the ECAA will continue throughout the transition period. Turkish workers, business persons and their family members will be able to apply for entry clearance or extension of their stay in the UK until the end of 2020 under existing arrangements.

All applications, provided they were submitted before 11pm GMT on 31 December 2020, will be decided in accordance with the existing rules and guidance.


Written Question
Visas: Turkey
Monday 9th November 2020

Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that ECAA entry clearance applications received prior to 31 December 2020 are processed in accordance with the rules in force prior to 31 December 2020.

Answered by Kevin Foster

The Government remains committed to ensuring people are not unfairly impacted in terms of their immigration status as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Further guidance for European Communities Association Agreement (ECAA) applicants who have been unable to return to the UK or renew their leave because of illness or travel restrictions due to Covid-19 will be published shortly.

Under the EU Withdrawal Agreement, the UK’s commitments to Turkish nationals exercising rights under the ECAA will continue throughout the transition period. Turkish workers, business persons and their family members will be able to apply for entry clearance or extension of their stay in the UK until the end of 2020 under existing arrangements.

All applications, provided they were submitted before 11pm GMT on 31 December 2020, will be decided in accordance with the existing rules and guidance.


Written Question
Migrant Workers: Visas
Monday 28th September 2020

Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)

Question to the Home Office:

What recent assessment she has made of trends in the time taken by UK Visas and Immigration to process one-year visa extensions for healthcare workers.

Answered by Kevin Foster

Mr Speaker, I would like, with your permission to group questions 30 and 31.

Up till close on Friday, provisional management information shows we have concluded 5,954 free extensions for eligible healthcare workers and dependents.

On average, straightforward cases have been concluded within four weeks of receiving necessary information from employers to enable the extension to be undertaken.


Written Question
Asylum: Appeals
Monday 7th September 2020

Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to allow asylum seekers to work after they have been waiting six months for a decision on their case.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

Asylum seekers can work in the UK if their claim has been outstanding for 12 months, through no fault of their own. Those allowed to work are restricted to jobs on the Shortage Occupation List, which is published by the Home Office and based on expert advice from the Migration Advisory Committee.

It is important to distinguish between those who need protection and those seeking to work here, who can apply for a work visa under the Immigration Rules. Our wider policy could be undermined if migrants bypassed work visa Rules by lodging unfounded asylum claims here.

Asylum seeker right to work is a complex issue. A review of the policy is ongoing, and we are considering the evidence put forward on the issue.


Written Question
Asylum: Employment
Monday 7th September 2020

Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to allow asylum seekers to work in roles in addition to those on the Shortage Occupation List.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

Asylum seekers can work in the UK if their claim has been outstanding for 12 months, through no fault of their own. Those allowed to work are restricted to jobs on the Shortage Occupation List, which is published by the Home Office and based on expert advice from the Migration Advisory Committee.

It is important to distinguish between those who need protection and those seeking to work here, who can apply for a work visa under the Immigration Rules. Our wider policy could be undermined if migrants bypassed work visa Rules by lodging unfounded asylum claims here.

Asylum seeker right to work is a complex issue. A review of the policy is ongoing, and we are considering the evidence put forward on the issue.


Written Question
Asylum: Finance
Monday 7th September 2020

Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public paper of providing support to asylum seekers who are unable to work because their case has not yet been heard.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office has not made an estimate of this cost.

Asylum seekers can work in the UK if their claim has been outstanding for 12 months, through no fault of their own. Those allowed to work are restricted to jobs on the Shortage Occupation List, which is published by the Home Office and based on expert advice from the Migration Advisory Committee.

It is important to distinguish between those who need protection and those seeking to work here, who can apply for a work visa under the Immigration Rules. Our wider policy could be undermined if migrants bypassed work visa Rules by lodging unfounded asylum claims here.

As part of the plans to speed up Asylum decision making, over the last 18 months, UK Visas and Immigration have increased the number of Asylum decision makers and support staff as part of a rolling recruitment campaign and mobilised a transformation programme that seeks to simplify, streamline and digitise processes.


Written Question
Visas: Turkey
Monday 20th July 2020

Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to enable people with European Community Association Agreement visas to (a) renew and (b) extend those visas whist outside the UK in the event that they cannot travel back to the UK during the covid-19 outbreak prior to their visa expiring; and if she will make a statement.

Answered by Kevin Foster

The Government is committed to ensuring that people are not unfairly impacted in terms of their immigration status as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Those who are outside the UK when their European Community Association Agreement (ECAA) visa expires can apply, free of charge, for entry clearance as an ECAA business person so that they can return to the UK. On their return, they can seek to extend their leave where they are eligible for this.

Further guidance for ECAA applicants who have been unable to return to the UK or renew their leave because of illness or travel restrictions due to Covid-19 will be published shortly