Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many work permits have been issued to Indian nationals in each of the past five years; and how many Indian nationals have overstayed their visas in each of the past five years.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office is committed to publishing data as part of the immigration statistics quarterly release. The transparency data provides outstanding applications by specific route and can be found featured in the ‘Migration Transparency Data’ on the GOV.UK website.

The immigration statistics Data Tables for Work can be found at Migration Statistics – Immigration Statistics, year ending June 2022, using the link ‘Why do people come to the UK? Work’ section 3 ‘Data Tables’. This table, at ‘Vis_03a’ tab, provides the numbers of work entry clearance visa cases applied for, issued, and refused for the year ending June 2022. There have been 117,446 applications for entry clearance for work purposes by Indian nationals from June 2021-June 2022, with 110,816 visas granted. Further details can be found on GOV.UK, including archived statistics.

The statistics relating to in-country work visa applications (extensions) is available on GOV.UK per annum, covering each year since the transparency data reporting began in 2010: however it is not broken down by nationality.

We do not routinely publish any data on numbers of individuals that have overstayed their visa expiry in the UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their objective for net migration in (1) three years' time, and (2) five years' time.

Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth - Shadow Minister (Home Office)

As the Prime Minister has said, the Government remains committed to reducing net migration over time, while ensuring we have the skills our economy needs to grow. The Government continues to keep the immigration system under review.

Our immediate priority is getting a grip on illegal migration, to stop the abuse of our system and stop the boats making illegal, dangerous and unnecessary journeys across the Channel for the profits of criminal people smuggling gangs.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to withdraw from (1) the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and (2) the 1966 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees; and if they have any such plans, what assessment they have made of the need for parliament to have a role in such withdrawals.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government does not have plans to withdraw from the Refugee Convention and its Protocol.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the increase in GDP per head resulting from a 50,000 increase in the number of work permits if, on average, 90 per cent of applicants continue to be accompanied by one dependant.

Answered by Baroness Penn

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility provides forecasts of the overall impact on economic growth of government policy, including those resulting from immigration policy. The next forecast will be provided on the 17^th of November alongside the Autumn Statement.

It is not appropriate to provide commentary on specific scenarios, but the government does consider relevant impacts in assessing potential changes to immigration policy.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the impact on the trend rate of economic growth of a 50,000 increase in the number of work permits issued per year.

Answered by Baroness Penn

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility provides forecasts of the overall impact on economic growth of government policy, including those resulting from immigration policy. The next forecast will be provided on the 17^th of November alongside the Autumn Statement.

It is not appropriate to provide commentary on specific scenarios, but the government does consider relevant impacts in assessing potential changes to immigration policy.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have a target for increasing the trend rate of economic growth; and if so, what it is.

Answered by Baroness Penn

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to withdraw from (1) the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and (2) the 1966 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees; and if they have any such plans, what assessment they have made of the need for replacement legislation.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government does not have plans to withdraw from the Refugee Convention and its Protocol.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 24 October (HL2526), why they do not routinely publish any data on numbers of individuals that have overstayed their visa expiry in the UK; and whether they will publish the numbers for India in each of the past five years.

Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth - Shadow Minister (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes statistics relating to exit checks, which can be found on gov.uk, which provide statistics on the number/proportion of visas for which:

a) The individual was recorded as departing in time (before their leave expired)

b) The individual was recorded as departing late

c) The individual has no matched departure record

The statistics do not provide information on the number of overstayer due to known limitations in the data. For example, an individual travelling to or from the UK via the Common Travel Area will be included in the ‘no matched departure record’ category. Further information is provided in the published report and accompanying user guide on gov.uk.

The latest statistics are published in the Fifth report on statistics relating to exit checks and future plans for these statistics outlined in the recent publication on Developments in Exit Checks, also found on gov.uk.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government when the International Passenger Survey (IPS) stopped being used as a significant element in calculating net migration; and what has taken its place.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Question: HL3965 and HL3966 are attached.

Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician

Lord Green of Deddington

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

12 December 2022

Dear Lord Green,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Questions asking how many arrivals by (1) Ukrainians and their dependants, (2) Hong Kong BNOs and their dependants, and (3) Afghan citizens and their dependants, are included in the latest Office for National Statistics net migration figures, published on 24 November; and when the International Passenger Survey (IPS) stopped being used as a significant element in calculating net migration; and what has taken its place (HL3965;HL3966).

In the Office for National Statistics (ONS) bulletin published on 24 November, Section 4, Migration Events[1] details the following published Home Office data included in the ONS’ total long-term international migration estimates:

Ukrainians: around 89,000 arrived in the UK in the year to June 2022

Afghans: around 21,000 arrived in the UK in the year to June 2022

For British nationals overseas (BN(O)) status holders and their families from Hong Kong, colleagues from the ONS and the Home Office are working together to resolve how we identify those that are long-term international migrants in the data. Home Office statistics show that around 76,000 visas were issued for the BN(O) route in the year ending June 2022. This will represent the upper bound for arrivals, as not all of those with a visa will arrive in the UK or stay long term. The ONS is also working to identify BN(O) status holders in their International Passenger Survey (IPS) data using country of birth and country of last residences as this may help provide a more robust estimate. Current analysis suggests that 28,000 British nationals with a country of birth of Hong Kong immigrated into the UK in the year ending June 2022.

The long-term international migration data from the IPS was the largest component of the LongTerm International Migration (LTIM) estimates until its suspension in March 2020 because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In August 2020 the ONS announced that they would not return to producing official migration statistics from the IPS because it had been stretched beyond its original purpose. The ONS now focuses on measuring actual migration, as opposed to intentions, using primarily administrative data (admin-based migration estimates (ABMEs)). The ONS’ International migration statistical design progress report: July 2022 provides more information.[2]

For the latest long-term international migration estimates; non-EU figures are based on Home Office Border Systems data, EU figures are based on Registration and Population Interaction Database (RAPID) data received from Department for Work and Pensions and HM Revenue and Customs, and British Nationals figures are based on the International Passenger Survey (IPS). See the Measuring the data section[3] for more detail. Thank you for your continued interest in our international migration estimates.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

[1] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/ bulletins/longterminternationalmigrationprovisional/yearendingjune2022#migration-events

[2] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/ articles/internationalmigrationstatisticaldesignprogressreport/july2022

[3] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/ bulletins/longterminternationalmigrationprovisional/yearendingjune2022#measuring-the-data

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many arrivals by (1) Ukrainians and their dependants, (2) Hong Kong BNOs and their dependants, and (3) Afghan citizens and their dependants, are included in the latest Office for National Statistics net migration figures, published on 24 November.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Question: HL3965 and HL3966 are attached.

Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician

Lord Green of Deddington

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

12 December 2022

Dear Lord Green,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Questions asking how many arrivals by (1) Ukrainians and their dependants, (2) Hong Kong BNOs and their dependants, and (3) Afghan citizens and their dependants, are included in the latest Office for National Statistics net migration figures, published on 24 November; and when the International Passenger Survey (IPS) stopped being used as a significant element in calculating net migration; and what has taken its place (HL3965;HL3966).

In the Office for National Statistics (ONS) bulletin published on 24 November, Section 4, Migration Events[1] details the following published Home Office data included in the ONS’ total long-term international migration estimates:

Ukrainians: around 89,000 arrived in the UK in the year to June 2022

Afghans: around 21,000 arrived in the UK in the year to June 2022

For British nationals overseas (BN(O)) status holders and their families from Hong Kong, colleagues from the ONS and the Home Office are working together to resolve how we identify those that are long-term international migrants in the data. Home Office statistics show that around 76,000 visas were issued for the BN(O) route in the year ending June 2022. This will represent the upper bound for arrivals, as not all of those with a visa will arrive in the UK or stay long term. The ONS is also working to identify BN(O) status holders in their International Passenger Survey (IPS) data using country of birth and country of last residences as this may help provide a more robust estimate. Current analysis suggests that 28,000 British nationals with a country of birth of Hong Kong immigrated into the UK in the year ending June 2022.

The long-term international migration data from the IPS was the largest component of the LongTerm International Migration (LTIM) estimates until its suspension in March 2020 because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In August 2020 the ONS announced that they would not return to producing official migration statistics from the IPS because it had been stretched beyond its original purpose. The ONS now focuses on measuring actual migration, as opposed to intentions, using primarily administrative data (admin-based migration estimates (ABMEs)). The ONS’ International migration statistical design progress report: July 2022 provides more information.[2]

For the latest long-term international migration estimates; non-EU figures are based on Home Office Border Systems data, EU figures are based on Registration and Population Interaction Database (RAPID) data received from Department for Work and Pensions and HM Revenue and Customs, and British Nationals figures are based on the International Passenger Survey (IPS). See the Measuring the data section[3] for more detail. Thank you for your continued interest in our international migration estimates.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

[1] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/ bulletins/longterminternationalmigrationprovisional/yearendingjune2022#migration-events

[2] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/ articles/internationalmigrationstatisticaldesignprogressreport/july2022

[3] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/ bulletins/longterminternationalmigrationprovisional/yearendingjune2022#measuring-the-data

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many entry clearance visas grants they provided to main applicants under the (1) Skilled Worker, and (2) Skilled Worker - Health & Care, routes for each quarter of the year up to June; and for each route, how many were issued for jobs at (a) RQF Level 6, (b) RQF Levels 3 to 5, and (c) RQF Level 3.

Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth - Shadow Minister (Home Office)

Applications granted to main applicants of the ‘Skilled Worker’ visa

Applications granted to main applications of the ‘Skilled Worker – Health & Care’ visa

There is no published data that links the entry clearance visas granted in these categories to the respective RQF classifications.

Found: Berriew, Baroness Corston, Lord Dholakia, Baroness Eaton, Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, Lord Green of Deddington

Reducing net migration in the spotlight from 3.05pm. Lord Green of Deddington questions government on @ONS’s figure that net international migration to the UK was 504,000 for the year ending June 2022. ? Watch #LordsQs online https://t.co/rai7B1cmA5 4/4 https://t.co/62rM15vMpS