Question
Will migrants who come to this country and set up legitimate small businesses that employ people who pay taxes be advantaged under the scheme that the Home Secretary has announced for earned settlement, or will they be excluded because they are not working people, according to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury’s definition announced this weekend?
Answer
They will need to meet the terms of their visa, which is the most important measure in ensuring that people who have come here on certain terms fulfil the contribution they were supposed to make.
Verdict: RED (17/100)
The reply only partly answers the question. It says migrants who founded businesses must meet their visa conditions, but it never says whether they would be advantaged or disadvantaged under the earned settlement scheme, and that core point is left hedged. It also does not address the Chief Secretary to the Treasury's definition of 'working people' or whether migrant business founders would be excluded from it, so that part goes unanswered. A member of the public would likely need to ask again for specific, committed information.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether migrants who set up legitimate small businesses that employ taxpayers will be advantaged under the earned settlement scheme announced by the Home Secretary. | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The reply says business-founding migrants must meet their visa terms and that visa compliance matters most, but never says whether such migrants would be advantaged under the earned settlement scheme, so the core question goes unanswered. |
| Whether, under the Chief Secretary to the Treasury's definition of 'working people' announced this weekend, such migrant business founders will be excluded from the earned settlement scheme. | Not Addressed | Generic | The reply never mentions the Chief Secretary to the Treasury's definition of 'working people' or whether migrant business founders would be excluded, and the visa-terms statements do not engage with that exclusion question. |