§ Gregory BarkerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many documented cases his Department have received from the Professional Contractors Group relating to employers in the technology sector importing labour from abroad in an effort to reduce employment costs; and what steps are being taken by his Department to ensure that the work permit system is not abused in this way. [66015]
§ Beverley HughesIn March 2002, the Professional Contractors Group (PCG) provided Work Permits UK (WPUK) Allegations team a dossier of 85 cases (relating to 61 separate employers) specifically relating to the replacement of United Kingdom Information Technology contractors with lower paid employees from overseas.
Most of the cases are complaints about employment policies of employers, rather than specific allegations of abuse of the work permit arrangements, and as such it does not warrant any further action by Work Permits (UK). 12 cases contained specific information about abuse of the work permit arrangements, and these are being pursued by WPUK. A list has been returned to PCG setting out whether cases continue to be investigated.
The overall aim of the work permit arrangements is to strike the right balance between enabling employers to recruit or transfer skilled people from abroad while safeguarding the interests of the resident work force. However, the arrangements cover only those vacancies which are to be filled by an employee working on a PAYE basis, and as such, there are safeguards to ensure that resident workers willing to work on such a basis are not disadvantaged.
In the cases provided by the PCG, it is apparent that the majority refer to a 'contractor' being replaced by an incoming 'employee' (under PAYE). It is a commercial decision by the employer whether they offer employment terms on a self-employment, contractual or direct PAYE basis.
§ Gregory BarkerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many work permit applications have been(a) granted and (b) refused by Work Permits UK on the grounds of shortage occupations criteria in each month since June 2001: [66014]
(2) how many permit applications Work Permits UK have approved on the grounds of shortage occupations criteria when the specific skills possessed have been described as IT skills. [66012]
§ Beverley HughesWork Permits UK currently operates shortage occupation lists in respect of the Information Technology (IT), health care and engineering sectors and a fourth list in respect of other miscellaneous shortage occupations, which currently includes actuaries, Civil Aviation Authority licensed aircraft engineers, teachers and veterinary surgeons.
108WThe following table sets out the number of work permits approved and refused in each month in the period between 1 June 2001 and 30 June 2002 under shortage occupations criteria and those approved specifically under shortage occupations criteria in the IT sector in the same period:
Work permit applications under shortage occupation criteria (all) Work permit applications under shortage occupation criteria (IT sector) Approved Refused Approved Refused 2001 June 4,381 72 1,139 30 July 4,979 120 1,126 27 August 4,420 99 1,197 32 September 3,617 117 1,142 55 October 4,428 97 1,315 40 November 3,975 95 1,188 28 December 3,393 142 926 33 2002 January 4,392 211 1,476 72 February 4,082 303 1,543 99 March 4,617 321 1,596 148 April 4,439 253 1,270 149 May 4,606 255 1,136 122 June 3,916 150 834 71 Total 55,245 2,235 15,888 906