Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees, what plans he has to passport qualifications for Ukrainian refugees to help enable them to access work.

The Government is taking targeted steps to assist Ukrainian refugees to pursue employment in their professions in the UK, while maintaining the principle, supported by the Professional Qualifications Act 2022, that regulators have the autonomy to set standards for their professions and assess who meets these standards.

It will ultimately be for Ukrainian refugees to determine whether and when they wish to look for work in the United Kingdom, along with the type of work they wish to pursue. For those who wish to find work requiring professional qualifications, one targeted step which will be taken is to identify and seek to mitigate entry barriers faced by those arriving from Ukraine. The UK European Network for Information (ENIC) service manages qualification passporting and provides advice on the comparability of international qualifications at all levels of education with those of the UK on behalf of Government. The service maintains an extensive database of international qualifications and education systems, including for Ukraine, and are fully prepared to deal with Ukrainian and other refugees’ qualifications.