Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the document entitled The UK’s Points-Based Immigration System - Further Details, published 13 July 2020, what steps she will take to prevent employers in the shipping industry from filling vacancies for seafarer occupations that require skills below level 3 of the Regulated Qualifications Framework with migrant workers on rates of pay below the National Living Wage.

The further details statement published on 13 July sets out that employers must undergo checks to demonstrate they are a genuine business, are solvent, and that the roles they wish to recruit into are credible and meet the salary and skills requirements, before they can be granted a licence to sponsor Skilled Workers.

We will conduct regular checks of PAYE records for all skilled workers to confirm they are being paid the correct salary, and take action where necessary.