Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2022 to Question 98935 on Wind Power: Migrant Workers, which states that employers should first seek to recruit from the resident labour market, whether her Department (a) carries out checks on employers and (b) seeks assurances from employers that UK labour will be used before seeking to fill posts through immigration under the concession.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Government regularly reviews all concessions to the Immigration Rules against the general principles of the immigration system to check whether they are necessary and regularly undertakes engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. This will continue to be the case in future.
The Home Office is not responsible for evaluating the labour market or governing how private companies recruit their workers.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2022 to Question 98935 on Wind Power: Migrant Workers, whether her Department had received representations from employers seeking to extend the concession before making a decision to grant that extension.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Government regularly reviews all concessions to the Immigration Rules against the general principles of the immigration system to check whether they are necessary and regularly undertakes engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. This will continue to be the case in future.
The Home Office is not responsible for evaluating the labour market or governing how private companies recruit their workers.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2022 to Question 95942 on Wind Power: Migrant Workers, what estimate she has made of the size of the shortfall of resident labour in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office is not responsible for evaluating the labour market and therefore has made no such estimate. The Home Office is clear that all employers should first seek to recruit from the resident labour market before using immigration to provide a work force.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential risk of weapons sent to the Ukrainian armed forces coming into the possession of organised crime gangs.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat
This Government is committed to tackling the threat posed by trafficking and the misuse of illicit small arms and light weapons which play a key role in facilitating Organised Crime Group (OCG) activity.
According to NAC Threat assessments it remains highly unlikely that the conflict in Ukraine is impacting on the Serious and organised crime small arms and light weapons threat to the UK. Despite the number of small arms and light weapons available in conflict zones, very few types available pre-conflict or donated by western governments are used by criminals in the UK.
At the end of the conflict, it is a realistic possibility that some small arms and light weapons will be traded on the European criminal marketplace. The threat is being monitored closely by agencies, in close cooperation with European Partners such as Europol. We are adopting a multi-agency approach to further develop an understanding of the illicit firearms trade and lessons learnt from previous events.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with representatives of the Scottish Government on drug consumption rooms.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
We are committed to working across the UK and have regular contact with the Scottish Government at ministerial and official level on tackling drug use and reducing the harms it causes.
This includes discussion of Scottish Government interest in drug consumption rooms. The next UK Drugs Ministerial meeting is in planning for early in the New Year and will be held in Cardiff.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2022 to Question 95942 on Wind Power: Migrant Workers, what salary and resident labour market condition tests were undertaken (a) as part of the decision to extend the concession and (b) during the process of assessing applications to import crew.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Government regularly reviews all concessions to the Immigration Rules against the general principles of the immigration system to check whether they are necessary and regularly undertakes engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. This will continue to be the case in future.
We are clear that all employers should first seek to recruit from the resident labour market rather than using immigration to provide a work force.
The concession will expire on 30 April 2023 at which point we expect that the work will be undertaken by UK workers or those with the appropriate permission to do so.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2022 to Question 95942 on Wind Power: Migrant Workers, if he will take steps to consult maritime trade unions on the potential impact of the extension of the concession on UK seafarer employment in the offshore wind supply chain.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Government regularly reviews all concessions to the Immigration Rules against the general principles of the immigration system to check whether they are necessary and regularly undertakes engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. This will continue to be the case in future.
We are clear that all employers should first seek to recruit from the resident labour market rather than using immigration to provide a work force.
The concession will expire on 30 April 2023 at which point we expect that the work will be undertaken by UK workers or those with the appropriate permission to do so.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2022 to Question 95942 on Wind Power: Migrant Workers, which organisations the Government consulted prior to making the decision to extend that concession announced on 31 October 2022.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Government regularly reviews all concessions to the Immigration Rules against the general principles of the immigration system to check whether they are necessary and regularly undertakes engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. This will continue to be the case in future.
We are clear that all employers should first seek to recruit from the resident labour market rather than using immigration to provide a work force.
The concession will expire on 30 April 2023 at which point we expect that the work will be undertaken by UK workers or those with the appropriate permission to do so.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2022 to Question 89909 on Wind Power: Migrant Workers, which Department is responsible for (a) the enforcement of and (b) assessing the impact on employment law of the Offshore Wind Workers Immigration Rules Concession 2017.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and its agencies are responsible for the enforcement of employment law.
BEIS are responsible for evaluating the impact of employment law on all sections of society including migrant workers. The Home Office is responsible for evaluating the impact of immigration concessions.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer by the Minister for Immigration to the Question from the hon. Member for East Lothian of 16 November 2022, Official Report, column 669, for what reason the Offshore wind workers Immigration Rules concession 2017 was extended in the period between 15 June 2017 and 1 July 2022.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We are clear that all employers should first seek to recruit from the resident labour market before using immigration to provide a work force.
The concession will expire on 30 April 2023 at which point it will be reviewed.