Written questions by Downie.

What steps she is taking to reform spousal visa regulations.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reform of the family route and a wide range of other areas.In September 2024, we commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review the financial requirements in the Family Immigration Rules. There will be no changes to the current threshold of £29,000, until the MAC review is complete. We will then consider their report and decide whether to implement any of the recommendations.Information on statistics relating to family visas is available from the Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK publication. Data on family visas can be found in the Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.The statistics relate to applications and outcomes (grants, refusals, lapsed and withdrawn) of entry clearance visas granted for family reasons. Family Partner visa grants is available from Table Vis_D02. The 'family' route covers visas where an individual is applying for a visa on the basis of their relationship to a person settled in the UK or a British citizen.

How many spousal visas were issued in each of the past four years.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reform of the family route and a wide range of other areas.In September 2024, we commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review the financial requirements in the Family Immigration Rules. There will be no changes to the current threshold of £29,000, until the MAC review is complete. We will then consider their report and decide whether to implement any of the recommendations.Information on statistics relating to family visas is available from the Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK publication. Data on family visas can be found in the Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.The statistics relate to applications and outcomes (grants, refusals, lapsed and withdrawn) of entry clearance visas granted for family reasons. Family Partner visa grants is available from Table Vis_D02. The 'family' route covers visas where an individual is applying for a visa on the basis of their relationship to a person settled in the UK or a British citizen.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the removal of all STEM roles from the immigration salary list on (a) the advanced manufacturing industry and (b) their ability to attract global talent.

The Immigration White Paper has set out that we will replace the Immigration Salary List with a new Temporary Shortage List. The Migration Advisory Committee will recommend the occupations that will be for the Temporary Shortage List by drawing on evidence from the wider Labour Market Evidence Group.The government will be taking an evidence-based approach to skilled migration, ensuring temporary access for shortage skills while drawing on evidence from the LME Group to ensure there are workforce strategies detailing the steps that will be taken to boost the skills, training and engagement of the UK labour force. The Government will set out further details in the coming weeks.

What plans she has to review the income requirements for awarding a spousal visa.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reform of the family route and a wide range of other areas.In September 2024, we commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review the financial requirements in the Family Immigration Rules. There will be no changes to the current threshold of £29,000, until the MAC review is complete. We will then consider their report and decide whether to implement any of the recommendations.Information on statistics relating to family visas is available from the Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK publication. Data on family visas can be found in the Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.The statistics relate to applications and outcomes (grants, refusals, lapsed and withdrawn) of entry clearance visas granted for family reasons. Family Partner visa grants is available from Table Vis_D02. The 'family' route covers visas where an individual is applying for a visa on the basis of their relationship to a person settled in the UK or a British citizen.