Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the minimum salary floor as part of the Health and Care visa salary requirements on staff retention in the North West.

Higher pay encourages staff retention. Since the introduction of the Skilled Worker route, the salary requirements dictate that a migrant must be paid whatever is higher out of the general threshold for the route or the ‘going rate’ for that occupation, with an absolute minimum salary requirement an overseas worker has to be paid. This is designed to place a ‘premium’ on recruiting overseas, maintaining access to international talent for firms, but also ensuring this is never a cheaper alternative to fair pay and that UK resident workers undertaking skilled work are not undercut. It also helps ensure overseas workers can support themselves and any dependants without access to public funds.

We have commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee to review the salary requirements for Skilled Workers, including Health and Care Workers, and we expect their recommendations to be published shortly.