Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an estimate of the cost to his Department of subsidising visa costs for foreign national workers.

As part of the Industrial Strategy, the Chancellor launched the Visa Fees Reimbursement Scheme for Scale-Ups on 10 June. The targeted grant scheme, worth up to £25K for around 50 businesses a year, will help UK scale-ups in Clean Energy, Life Sciences and Digital & Technologies recruit internationally by reimbursing eligible visa application fees. It will support access to exceptional skills, boost competitiveness and reinforce the UK as a place for ambitious businesses to start, scale and stay. In 2023, scale-ups generated £2.2 trillion in turnover and employed 3.9 million people, despite comprising just 0.8% of UK businesses, underlining their importance to growth.