Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to review or amend the rules for issuing Tier 2 visas, in the light of reported shortages of Asian food chefs in the UK.

The Government commissioned advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), which advises the Government on shortage occupations. The MAC has consulted widely with the restaurant industry on a number of occasions and concluded that the current criteria adequately identify the very best chefs whilst providing measures for preventing abuse of the system.

In seeking to develop an immigration system that serves the national interest, in July 2017, we commissioned the MAC to advise on the economic and social impacts of the UK’s exit from the European Union and also on how the UK’s immigration system should be aligned with a modern industrial strategy – which will inform our decisions on the future system. The MAC has been asked to report by September 2018.