Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the need to review the Shortage Occupation List.

The independent Migration Advisory Commission (MAC) reviews the Shortage Occupation List when commissioned to do so by the Government. The MAC’s reports and recommendations take account of all of the labour market conditions at the time. As future immigration arrangements for EU nationals are yet to be determined, it would be premature to try to assess the impact on the Shortage Occupation List at this stage.

The MAC has carried out two full reviews and four partial reviews of the Shortage Occupation List since May 2010. This includes a review of GPs in February 2015. The MAC recommended waiting until a Department of Health initiative to incentivise medical graduates to become GPs is evaluated, before considering the addition of GPs to the Shortage Occupation List. The report can be read at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/partial-review-of-the-shortage-occupation-lists.

The Government will consider further reviews of the list as part of the MAC’s wider work plan.