Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions were held with the Scottish Government on the minimum income threshold requirement for family visas prior to its implementation about its potential impact (a) on affected families living in Scotland, (b) to the Scottish economy and (c) on communities across Scotland.

A three-month public consultation on family migration, including the proposal for a minimum income threshold for those sponsoring family migrants, was undertaken across the UK from 13 July to 6 October 2011. The Scottish Government and local authorities and non-governmental organisations in Scotland were consulted as part of this process. The Scottish Government and local authorities were also consulted by the independent Migration Advisory Committee in preparing its November 2011 report on the level at which a minimum income threshold should be set to prevent family migrants becoming a burden on the taxpayer. The responses to the public consultation and the Migration Advisory Committee’s report were carefully considered in setting the minimum income threshold requirement for family visas implemented on 9 July 2012.