§ Matthew GreenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people with Tier One work permits renewed their visa in each year from 1997 to 2002. [116065]
§ Beverley HughesThe number of Tier One work permit extensions issued since 2000 (the earliest date for which data is held) is as follows:
2000 11,613
2001 19,830
2002 27,010
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the annual budget is of Work Permits UK; how many staff it employs; how much it will spend this year on marketing its services within the UK; and how many work permits it is empowered to issue each year. [116885]
§ Beverley HughesThe budget allocation for Work Permits (UK) for the financial year 2003/2004 depends on the outcome of continuing discussions between the Home Office and the Treasury. However, from 1 April 2003, employers are charged £95 for the consideration of each work permit application and this will enable WP (UK) to recover a large part of the cost of running the organisation, plus relevant Home Office overheads. Apart from the new Sectors Based Scheme, which is subject to a quota 20,000 permits, the work permit service is demand-led and responds to the needs of UK employers to recruit overseas workers. Staffing levels within WP (UK) are set according to this demand. WP (UK) currently employs 480 staff.
§ Mr. David StewartTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to extend the number of work permits for the leisure and hospitality industry. [118351]
§ Beverley HughesFollowing my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Budget Statement, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced a number of ways in which it intends to maximise benefits to the UK economy of managed migration routes to fill skills shortages and improve productivity. This includes the new sector-based work permit scheme which began on 30 May 2003 and will operate in the hospitality and828W food manufacturing sectors. Each sector will have a quota of 10,000 permits. Following consultation, these sectors were identified as having labour needs that could not be met by the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area workforce.
§ Mr. David StewartTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many work permits were issued for non-EU residents for the leisure and hospitality industry in each year since 1999. [118352]
§ Beverley HughesThe following figures are all approved work permit applications in the hospitality sector for the years in question:
Year Hospitality sector 1999 1,027 2000 2,046 2001 5,379 2002 12,136 2003(January-May) 6,029 Separate figures are not available for the leisure sector.