Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 15 June 2018, HCWS768, if he will make representations to the Migration Advisory Committee to include in its review of the Shortage Occupation List, the (a) salary threshold and (b) eligibility criteria for Tier 2 visas for skilled chefs in the ethnic cuisine sector of the catering industry.

In parallel to the changes we announced on 15 June to exempt doctors and nurses from the Tier 2 (General) cap on a temporary basis, the Government has commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review the full composition of the Tier 2 Shortage Occupation List (SOL). This will enable the MAC to look at the operation of the SOL and which posts are in national shortage and should be given priority within the cap.

We have asked the MAC to report by Spring 2019, as they currently have two significant commissions on EU migration and international students, both of which are due to be published in September.