Written question asked by Baroness Coussins (Crossbench) on Tuesday, 15 November 2016, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 29 November 2016. It was answered by Lord Nash (Conservative) on Tuesday, 29 November 2016 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Teachers: Migrant Workers

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of figures showing that 85 per cent of modern foreign language assistants in British schools are non-UK EU nationals, what steps they are taking to continue to attract them and to safeguard their residency status following the withdrawal of the UK from the EU.

Answer: My Rt Hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, has been clear that she wants to protect the status of EU nationals already living here, and the only circumstances in which that would not be possible is if British citizens’ rights in European member states were not protected in return. The Government is considering the options for our future immigration system very carefully. As part of that it is important that we understand the effect on the different sectors of the economy and the labour market, including on modern foreign language teachers and assistants, from any changes that we make.

Secondary information