Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the potential impact of the changes to income thresholds in the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules, HC 997, published on 1 July 2025, on the number of people employed on Skilled Worker Visas who no longer have leave to remain.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Immigration Rules, published on 1 July 2025, set out the wider salary changes across the Skilled Worker route. This increased salary requirement does not apply to the Health and Care Worker visa.
From 9 April 2025, the minimum salary for the Health and Care Worker visa, which is part of the Skilled Worker route, increased to £25,000 per year. For healthcare roles that are eligible for the Health and Care Worker visa, the salary threshold is linked to national pay scales for the specific job, or the minimum of £25,000, whichever is higher.
Entry level National Health Service Agenda for Change band 3 roles do not meet the new minimum salary threshold for a Health and Care Worker visa. However, Agenda for Change NHS pay band 3 staff currently on the Health and Care Worker visa are not required to meet the new minimum salary threshold until the point at which they need to renew their visa. At this point, we expect the majority of staff to have accrued two or more years’ experience and therefore be at the top of pay band 3, which is above the new minimum salary threshold.
The Department continues to monitor trends in the size of the care workforce using a range of intelligence, including monthly tracking based on data collections from independent providers.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the average time taken was for the Insolvency Service to investigate civil offences in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The average time taken by The Insolvency Service to investigate corporate civil misconduct, in the 6-months to 30 September 2025, was 188 days from allocation to an investigator to the investigation being completed.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of taking legislative steps to include IVF in the (a) Employment Rights Act 2010 and (b) Employment Rights Act 1996.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government is committed to improving the wellbeing and work-life balance of all workers, including those navigating the difficult journey of fertility treatment. We are introducing measures through the employment rights bill to make flexible working available to more people, more easily. This change could help employees and employers agree arrangements that support attendance at medical appointments, including those for IVF.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the potential impact of the changes to income thresholds in the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules, HC 997, published on 1 July 2025, on the number of people employed on Skilled Worker Visas who no longer have leave to remain.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
On 12 May, The Home Office published our Immigration White Paper, outlining our future approach to legal migration routes. The Home Office made Immigration Rules changes bringing the first of these reforms into effect. The 22 July changes included raising the skills threshold to RQF 6 and a routine uplift of salary going rates.
The salary uplift is based on changes in UK workers’ earnings, as recorded in the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings conducted by the Office of National Statistics. This ensures that migrant workers are not used to undercut UK workers and are not exploited by being underpaid, which would create downward pressure on wages.
Recent salary changes only affect those already in the Skilled Worker route when they next make an application to change employment, extend their stay, or settle. Sponsors are not required to increase salary in line with the new salary requirements for the duration of a worker’s existing permission. The changes only apply when they next make an application to change employment or extend their stay. This is in line with normal practice.
Those who have been in the route since before 4 April 2024 continue to be subject to lower overall salary requirements.
On 2 July, The Home Office asked the Migration Advisory Committee to advise on future salary requirements for Skilled Worker visas and the Temporary Shortage List.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that data relating to new civil service starters that is shared between Departments is based on formal trade union recognition rights and not general eligibility for union membership.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Data on new Civil Service starters is not routinely shared between departments. Trade union recognition rights within the Civil Service should be agreed by both the department and its recognised trade unions in the form of a framework agreement.
This is delegated to departments to negotiate with their recognised trade unions.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the potential impact of the changes to income thresholds in the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules, HC 997, published on 1 July 2025, on the number of people employed on Skilled Worker Visas who no longer have leave to remain.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department currently sponsors 26 staff on skilled worker visas. As and when each sponsorship ends, we consider individuals on a case-by-case basis under the UK’s sponsorship rules.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her policy paper entitled Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules: HC 1333, published on 14 October 2025, whether she has made an estimate of the number of workers currently employed on a Skilled Worker visa who will no longer have leave to remain.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The changes to the Immigration Rules in respect of English language requirements set out in HC1333 come into force on 8 January 2026 and do not affect the position of those given leave to remain as a Skilled Worker before that date. The changes to the Rules specify that a Skilled Worder previously given leave to remain on the basis of having met the previous requirement at B1 level will be able to extend their stay without needing to meet the new requirement.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the potential impact of the changes to income thresholds in the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules, HC 997, published on 1 July 2025, on the number of people employed on Skilled Worker Visas who no longer have leave to remain.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
On 12 May, we published our Immigration White Paper, outlining our future approach to legal migration routes. We made Immigration Rules changes bringing the first of these reforms into effect. The 22 July changes included raising the skills threshold to RQF 6 and a routine uplift of salary going rates.
The salary uplift is based on changes in UK workers’ earnings, as recorded in the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings conducted by the Office of National Statistics. This ensures that migrant workers are not used to undercut UK workers and are not exploited by being underpaid, which would create downward pressure on wages.
Recent salary changes only affect those already in the Skilled Worker route when they next make an application to change employment, extend their stay, or settle. Sponsors are not required to increase salary in line with the new salary requirements for the duration of a worker’s existing permission. The changes only apply when they next make an application to change employment or extend their stay. This is in line with normal practice.
Those who have been in the route since before 4 April 2024 continue to be subject to lower overall salary requirements.
On 2 July we asked the Migration Advisory Committee to advise on future salary requirements for Skilled Worker visas and the Temporary Shortage List.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the potential impact of the changes to income thresholds in the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules, HC 997, published on 1 July 2025, on the number of people employed on Skilled Worker Visas who no longer have leave to remain.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
On 12 May, we published our Immigration White Paper, outlining our future approach to legal migration routes. We made Immigration Rules changes bringing the first of these reforms into effect. The 22 July changes included raising the skills threshold to RQF 6 and a routine uplift of salary going rates.
The salary uplift is based on changes in UK workers’ earnings, as recorded in the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings conducted by the Office of National Statistics. This ensures that migrant workers are not used to undercut UK workers and are not exploited by being underpaid, which would create downward pressure on wages.
Recent salary changes only affect those already in the Skilled Worker route when they next make an application to change employment, extend their stay, or settle. Sponsors are not required to increase salary in line with the new salary requirements for the duration of a worker’s existing permission. The changes only apply when they next make an application to change employment or extend their stay. This is in line with normal practice.
Those who have been in the route since before 4 April 2024 continue to be subject to lower overall salary requirements.
On 2 July we asked the Migration Advisory Committee to advise on future salary requirements for Skilled Worker visas and the Temporary Shortage List.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the criteria relating to (a) environmental sustainability, (b) energy delivery and (c) local economic benefit for assessing proposals to host AI Growth Zones have been formally agreed; and if he will publish these criteria to ensure transparency in the selection process.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The AI Opportunities Action Plan set out how the UK can lay the foundations for AI growth, including the creation of AI Growth Zones.
To be considered, sites must be capable of delivering at least 500 MW of power for AI workloads by 2030, offer a minimum of 100 acres of land for development by 2028, and set out credible plans covering planning, delivery, and local economic benefits. These criteria were published on the government website as part of the AIGZ process earlier this year, which can be found here: AI Growth Zones: open for applications - GOV.UK