§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to fast-track asylum or immigration applicants who are skilled in the area of trades where the UK has labour shortages. [8562]
§ Angela EagleThe Home Secretary has announced further plans for controlled channels of entry to help meet skill needs in the United Kingdom economy. These will provide a legal route for those who can earn their living and contribute to the United Kingdom. But these proposals must be seen as separate from asylum. There are no plans to allow any asylum seeker who has made his way to this country to take up any form of employment other than the existing concessionary arrangements for adult asylum seekers where their application has been outstanding for longer than six months without a decision being made on it.