Mike Tapp MP: speeches

Speeches

• 17 Nov 2025 · Settlement: British National Overseas Route · Hansard source

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  The Government remain steadfast in their support for Hongkongers in the UK, and remain fully committed to the British national overseas route. We will consult on the earned settlement scheme shortly, and everyone will be welcome to participate.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Settlement: British National Overseas Route · Hansard source

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  We take extremely this seriously in the Home Office, but it is out of control after the previous Government left us with a broken system. That is why in just over a year and a half we have increased arrests by 50% and visits by 64%—the highest in British history—and we will continue on that route.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Settlement: British National Overseas Route · Hansard source

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  Absolutely. Across the board we recognise the contribution from migrant communities, and specifically the Hong Kong community. We are listening to their views about the route to settlement, and will continue to do so.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Refund Delays · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for his question, and of course we will be just as zealous with those receiving refunds.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Refund Delays · Hansard source

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  I am aware of those three specific issues, and I reassure my hon. Friend that we are looking at them. I am happy to talk to him in more detail offline.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Refund Delays · Hansard source

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  UK Visas and Immigration makes millions of decisions every year about who has permission to visit or stay in the UK, protecting our borders and delivering excellent customer service across the globe. Where customers require refunds, UKVI officials ensure that they are made as swiftly as possible.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Legal Immigration: Statutory Annual Cap · Hansard source

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  It is always amusing to be lectured about immigration by the Conservative party. There are more sophisticated ways to address high net migration, and this Government are doing that by tackling the underlying causes of over-reliance on migrant labour by employers, alongside raising the bar for who can come to the UK, and targeted visa restrictions.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Legal Immigration: Statutory Annual Cap · Hansard source

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  An arbitrary limit on legal migration would serve no one. As we have seen in the past, attempts to implement such caps have been unsuccessful. I remind the hon. Member of the 1 million in one year under the previous Government, undercutting British workers. Instead, this Government have set out a plan to reduce net migration by restoring control to the immigration system, reducing our reliance on overseas labour, and investing in domestic skills.

• 12 Nov 2025 · Draft Immigration Skills Charge (Amendment) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  The crossing rates are very similar to those of 2022. In 2018, 400 crossed; more than 150,000 have crossed since then. There is no doubt that we inherited open borders from the Conservatives, and that is why the amusement continues. We have said that we will do whatever it takes. By that we mean that there is more to come. I am not going to ruin the party with policy announcements in this Committee. Regarding the Gazan refugees, we are a firm but fair Government. Where we need to help people, we will. It is a shame that that view is not shared by the Opposition. I will touch on the pilot scheme with France, which was criticised. It is what it says on the tin: a pilot. The Conservatives were begging for that pilot from the French, but obviously could not strike the deal. The scheme will grow and as it grows, it will form more of a deterrent to those sitting in Calais. We look forward to that. I welcome the questions of the hon. Member for Woking about the NHS. His points are valid. However, we are clear that we need to ensure that the public sector, as well as the private sector, recruits from the British workforce. There are plenty of young people, and elderly people, who would love to—and could—work in the NHS. The measures will encourage that.

• 12 Nov 2025 · Draft Immigration Skills Charge (Amendment) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  When we froze the social care visa route, lots of consultation was conducted to ensure that we fully understood the implications. We fully understand that to go in the right direction for this country we need to incentivise the public sector and the private sector to recruit from the skills that we have here. We are the sixth richest nation on Earth: there is a lot of talent here; we did not get there by accident. We must continue to encourage all companies and the public sector to recruit from within. Question put and agreed to .

• 12 Nov 2025 · Draft Immigration Skills Charge (Amendment) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to hon. Members for their contributions. I am pleased that the hon. Member for West Suffolk agrees with this policy. There is endless amusement for me in being lectured by the Conservatives on the immigration system. I hope that continues, because we need some amusement in this place.

• 12 Nov 2025 · Draft Immigration Skills Charge (Amendment) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Immigration Skills Charge (Amendment) Regulations 2025. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner. The immigration skills charge was introduced in April 2017. Its aim is to incentivise UK-based employers, including the UK branches and subsidiaries of overseas businesses, to take a long-term view of investment and training. It is designed to address historical under-investment in training domestic workers by UK employers and to deter some from turning to immigration as a cheaper alternative. The skills charge is paid by employers looking to sponsor skilled workers for visas lasting more than six months. It also applies if they wish to extend the employment for a further limited period. Senior and specialist workers also pay the charge, unless they are an EU national coming to work in the UK for less than three years. The increase will not prevent service supply by intra-corporate transferees from continuing, as it does now in line with our international trade commitments. The charge is paid up front when the employer assigns a certificate of sponsorship to a migrant worker and is calculated automatically based on dates provided by the employer as part of the sponsorship process. The charge has raised approximately £2.7 billion since it was introduced. The income provides financial support to help maintain existing skills budgets across the United Kingdom, which is important for a range of reasons, such as ensuring that immigration is not seen as the sole solution to dealing with the skills needs in our economy. As education and skills are devolved, the income raised helps to maintain funding levels for each of the devolved nations. It is distributed between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland using the formula devised by Lord Barnett. The draft regulations give effect to the commitment in the Government’s immigration White Paper, published on 12 May, to raise the cost of the immigration skills charge by 32% in line with inflation. From 16 December 2025, therefore, medium-sized and large employers will need to pay £1,320 per person they sponsor per year. There will continue to be a reduced rate for small and charitable organisations of £480 per person per year. The money raised will continue to support skills programmes and give those already in the UK the opportunity to fill high-quality jobs needed for the future growth of the country. Upskilling workers already here in the UK will also help us to fill future jobs from within our country. That will reduce the need for businesses and organisations to rely on recruiting international workers, in turn helping to bring down overall levels of net migration. The Government have been clear that the levels of net migration have been too high and must continue to come down. As is the case now, there will continue to be exemptions from the charge, such as employers seeking to recruit people into PhD-level occupations or to recruit a person who is switching from the student route, or where the person is being recruited for less than six months. The draft regulations make a minor update to the list of exempt occupations to reflect the latest occupational codes from the Office for National Statistics. They do not add or remove any occupations that are currently exempt, but in some cases reflect where occupations have been separated from groups. The immigration White Paper set out a comprehensive plan to restore order to our broken immigration system. We must ensure that the immigration system strikes the right balance between bringing in workers who can fill skills gaps and investing in our domestic workforce. The immigration skills charge is designed to ensure that employers contribute to our continued investment in developing the skills that the country needs, sending the clear message that immigration should not be relied on as an easy alternative. The draft regulations support the Government’s ambitions to reduce overall levels of net migration and to aid our resident workforce in finding high-quality jobs through skills training. I commend them to the Committee.

• 20 Oct 2025 · Alleged Spying Case: Home Office Involvement · Hansard source

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  Listen to that.

• 15 Sept 2025 · Ukrainian Nationals: Visa Applications · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for her congratulations and her hard work in this area. The UK Government have been clear from the outset that the Ukraine schemes are temporary and do not offer a direct route to settlement. The Ukraine permission extension scheme reflects our strong humanitarian commitment while also—this is important—respecting Ukraine’s wish for its citizens to return, when safe, to support national recovery. The long-term position is under active consideration, and further details will be provided at the earliest opportunity.

• 15 Sept 2025 · Ukrainian Nationals: Visa Applications · Hansard source

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  This Government remain committed to supporting Ukraine following Russia’s vile, illegal invasion. I acknowledge the warmth and generosity shown by so many local communities in supporting Ukrainians in the UK. Since the conflict began, more than 300,000 Ukrainians have been offered temporary sanctuary through the dedicated Ukraine schemes. Ukrainians can still apply to the Homes for Ukraine scheme with a UK sponsor and, once here, extend their stay to a total of 3.5 years, as recently announced.