Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will waive the requirement for asylum seekers to seek employment from the shortage occupations list for those asylum seekers who have waited for a decision on asylum claims for more than one year.

Asylum seekers who are in the UK asylum system and have had their asylum claim outstanding for 12 months or more, through no fault of their own, are allowed to work. Those permitted to work are restricted to jobs on the Shortage Occupations List (SOL), which is based on expert advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC). The list comprises skilled jobs where there is an identified national shortage which is sensible to fill, at least in part, through immigration. More information regarding MAC is available at: Migration Advisory Committee - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

It is important that our policy approach distinguishes between those who need protection and those seeking to work here who can apply for a work visa under the Immigration Rules. Therefore, at present there are no plans to waive the requirements to seek employment via the SOL. Asylum seekers do not need to make perilous journeys in order to seek employment in the United Kingdom. There are various safe and legal routes for those seeking to work in the UK under the Points Based System.