§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many work permits have been issued in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by(a) occupation and (b) region of employment. [113652]
§ Beverley HughesWork Permits (UK) approved a total of 157,759 work permit applications from employers between 1 April 2002 and 31 March 2003. The following table sets out the number of permits issued to those 20 industries sectors to which the majority of these work permits were issued.
996W
§ Mr. Blunkett[holding answer 15 May 2003]: The information requested is contained in the table. Prosecutions are a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service. The Act is working well.
Statistics for 2002 will be available in the autumn.
997W
Industry/sector Number of work permits approved between 1 April 2002 and 31 March 2003 Health and medical services 41,173 ENT and leisure services 28,813 Computer services 17,059 Admin, bus and man services 16,751 Hospitality and catering 13,319 Education and cultural act 13,195 Financial services 7,068 Manufacturing 4,054 Telecommunications 2,719 Construction and land serve 2,707 Sporting activities 2,144 Retail and related services 1,810 Transport 1,503 Extraction industries 1,340
Industry/sector Number of work permits approved between 1 April 2002 and 31 March 2003 Agriculture activities 1,115 Law related services 1,097 Government 801 Utilities-gas, electricity, water 650 Real estate and property services 311 Secure and protect services 130 Total 157,759 Work Permits (UK) is unable to provide a breakdown of the number of work permits issued by geographical region.