The draft Heathrow Expansion Policy Statement, published on the 18th June, requires any future applicant for expansion to assess the scheme's economic impacts, including labour supply effects. This would include consideration of workforce requirements during construction and operation. The Secretary of State for Transport would consider this evidence as part of any future application and decision for development consent.

The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 implements the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training places, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and internationally trained doctors with significant National Health Service experience for specialty training places.

For specialty training places starting in 2026, immigration statuses are being used as a proxy to capture applicants who are most likely to have significant experience working in the health service in the UK.

From 2027, immigration status will not automatically determine priority for specialty training. Instead, the act provides a power to specify in regulations any additional groups who will be prioritised by reference to criteria indicating significant experience as a doctor in the health service, or by reference to immigration status. The Department is working with NHS England, the devolved administrations, and other partners as part of the development of those regulations.

We recognise concerns about the impact of the act on those applying in the current application cycle for places, particularly where applicants did not know how prioritisation might affect them. However, delaying action would have prolonged the existing imbalance in training competition, and weakened our ability to plan a sustainable workforce.

International medical graduates who are not prioritised can still apply for postgraduate medical training and will be offered places if vacancies remain after prioritised applicants have received offers.

I agree with my hon. Friend. He will know that we suspended family reunion, but as we set out in our White Paper over a year ago, we believe that reform of the family routes system more generally is overdue. We will be introducing a new family policy that creates a fairer and more consistent framework.

Migrants who come here to work in our national health service and in other crucial sectors are tremendously welcome and should be encouraged, but I have seen surprising cases in Chesterfield because of the number of familial applications that have accompanied the arrival of a single worker. Is it the Secretary of State’s perspective that the family visa regime is working as intended, or does she think it is ripe for reform?

Occupations related to aviation engineering such as Electrical and electronics technicians and Engineering technicians are included in the Migration Advisory Committee’s Temporary Shortage List review. As part of this review, government departments have been asked to submit plans demonstrating evidence of current and future shortage, along with the action that is being taken to support that occupation and reduce the need for migrant labour. Skills England has been involved in reviewing these plans, assessing the data they use and the suitability of actions. The MAC are due to publish their report on the Temporary Shortage List this Summer.

The consultation for the earned settlement model, as proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, was open to the public between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026.

Once the final model has been decided by the Home Secretary, the economic and equality impact assessments will be published.

We received over 200,000 responses from the public and organisations and are now considering all responses received. This will help inform the development of the final earned settlement model.

The Department for Business and Trade launched the Visa Fees Reimbursement Scheme for Scale-Ups on 10 June as part of the Government's Modern Industrial Strategy. The scheme - worth up to £25K for around 50 businesses a year - supports eligible scale-ups in the Clean Energy, Life Sciences and Digital and Technologies priority sectors to recruit international talent by reimbursing eligible visa application fees. In 2024, scale-ups contributed £1.65 trillion in revenue (excluding financial services) to the UK economy and employed 6.1 million people (including FS), despite making up just 1.4% of the total business population, underlining their importance to growth. No applications have been received or approved to date. Consequently, no funding has been paid, no overseas workers or dependants supported, and no nationality data is currently held.

The Department for Business and Trade launched the Visa Fees Reimbursement Scheme for Scale-Ups on 10 June as part of the Government's Modern Industrial Strategy. The scheme - worth up to £25K for around 50 businesses a year - supports eligible scale-ups in the Clean Energy, Life Sciences and Digital and Technologies priority sectors to recruit international talent by reimbursing eligible visa application fees. In 2024, scale-ups contributed £1.65 trillion in revenue (excluding financial services) to the UK economy and employed 6.1 million people (including FS), despite making up just 1.4% of the total business population, underlining their importance to growth. No applications have been received or approved to date. Consequently, no funding has been paid, no overseas workers or dependants supported, and no nationality data is currently held.

The Department for Business and Trade launched the Visa Fees Reimbursement Scheme for Scale-Ups on 10 June as part of the Government's Modern Industrial Strategy. The scheme - worth up to £25K for around 50 businesses a year - supports eligible scale-ups in the Clean Energy, Life Sciences and Digital and Technologies priority sectors to recruit international talent by reimbursing eligible visa application fees. In 2024, scale-ups contributed £1.65 trillion in revenue (excluding financial services) to the UK economy and employed 6.1 million people (including FS), despite making up just 1.4% of the total business population, underlining their importance to growth. No applications have been received or approved to date. Consequently, no funding has been paid, no overseas workers or dependants supported, and no nationality data is currently held.

The Department for Business and Trade launched the Visa Fees Reimbursement Scheme for Scale-Ups on 10 June as part of the Government's Modern Industrial Strategy. The scheme - worth up to £25K for around 50 businesses a year - supports eligible scale-ups in the Clean Energy, Life Sciences and Digital and Technologies priority sectors to recruit international talent by reimbursing eligible visa application fees. In 2024, scale-ups contributed £1.65 trillion in revenue (excluding financial services) to the UK economy and employed 6.1 million people (including FS), despite making up just 1.4% of the total business population, underlining their importance to growth. No applications have been received or approved to date. Consequently, no funding has been paid, no overseas workers or dependants supported, and no nationality data is currently held.

The Department for Business and Trade launched the Visa Fees Reimbursement Scheme for Scale-Ups on 10 June as part of the Government's Modern Industrial Strategy. The scheme - worth up to £25K for around 50 businesses a year - supports eligible scale-ups in the Clean Energy, Life Sciences and Digital and Technologies priority sectors to recruit international talent by reimbursing eligible visa application fees. In 2024, scale-ups contributed £1.65 trillion in revenue (excluding financial services) to the UK economy and employed 6.1 million people (including FS), despite making up just 1.4% of the total business population, underlining their importance to growth. No applications have been received or approved to date. Consequently, no funding has been paid, no overseas workers or dependants supported, and no nationality data is currently held.

The table below shows the number of individuals that had initial UK Part-66 aircraft maintenance licences issued over the past five years. It does not show renewals or changes to existing licences. A licence once issued is valid for 5 years.

The spike of non-UK licences was when the Civil Aviation Authority had a process to obtain a UK Part-66 Aircraft Maintenance Licence for holders of an existing EASA Part-66 licence. This process closed on 31 December 2022.

Recruiting and retaining expert teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity for every child. While our focus is on increasing the number of high-quality domestic teachers, international teachers make a valuable contribution to the teacher workforce in many subjects, including modern foreign languages. This is reflected in visa arrangements, where international teachers can qualify for a skilled worker visa if they are paid in line with teachers’ national pay scales, rather than the higher salary threshold which applies to most occupations.

To support schools in recruiting the teachers they need, the department regularly engages with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Home Office and the British Council.

Guidance on recruiting and retaining international teachers is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/recruit-teachers-from-overseas.

Recruiting and retaining expert teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity for every child. While our focus is on increasing the number of high-quality domestic teachers, international teachers make a valuable contribution to the teacher workforce in many subjects, including modern foreign languages. This is reflected in visa arrangements, where international teachers can qualify for a skilled worker visa if they are paid in line with teachers’ national pay scales, rather than the higher salary threshold which applies to most occupations.

To support schools in recruiting the teachers they need, the department regularly engages with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Home Office and the British Council.

Guidance on recruiting and retaining international teachers is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/recruit-teachers-from-overseas.

The Department does not centrally hold data on the number of National Health Service staff whose salaries fall below the salary requirements for indefinite leave to remain, how many are within £500 of those requirements, or how many employees on Skilled Worker visas will not meet the relevant salary requirements at the point they become eligible for indefinite leave to remain.

For Health and Care Worker visa holders, eligibility for indefinite leave to remain is subject to meeting the salary requirements set out in the Immigration Rules. These include occupation‑specific salary “going rates”, many of which are aligned to national Agenda for Change pay scales for NHS roles. Individual eligibility for indefinite leave to remain will depend on specific circumstance. More information on the salary requirements is provided on the GOV.UK website.

The Department engages regularly with NHS Employers and other partners on a range of workforce matters, including international recruitment and retention.

The Home Office consultation on Earned Settlement closed in February 2026 and responses are currently being analysed. This will inform development of the final Earned Settlement model, including consideration of any potential exemptions or transitional measures for those already on a pathway to settlement. Following this, the necessary impact assessments, including those relating to health and care workers, will be undertaken. The Government will set out further details in due course.