Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Tier 2 general visas have been (a) made available and (b) issued in each of the last three months.

The total number of Tier 2 (general) entry clearance visas that can potentially be made available to possible applicants, via sponsors, is limited to 20,700 per year.

In the last quarter for which numbers are available (2014 Q2 April to June) there were 3,299 entry clearance visas granted in this category to applicants overseas (main applicants). Quarterly figures for 2014 Q3 (July to September) will be published on the Home Office website on 27 November as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, which are available from the Library of the House and at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release.