Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to change the minimum earnings limit for physiotherapists renewing a work visa to increase the number of physiotherapists working in the NHS.

The Government values the important work that physiotherapists do for the NHS. The current Tier 2 system, through which physiotherapists can be recruited, ensures that experienced workers are paid the higher of either a minimum of £30,000 or the ‘going rate’ for this occupation, the latter of which is based on data provided by the Office for National Statistics. This system is designed to ensure that migrants are paid a fair wage and that the resident workforce is not undercut.

However, we have been clear that decisions on the future immigration system should be based on clear evidence. That is why, on 24 June 2019, the Government asked the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to consider the issue of minimum salary thresholds in more detail. As part of this new commission, we have asked the MAC to look at a number of issues including the approach to calculating salary thresholds, the levels at which they should be set, the case for greater regional variation and the impact of exemptions from minimum salary thresholds. This report is due by January 2020.