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Number of immigrant workers to be capped
Richard Ford, Francis Elliott
Last updated June 25 2010 9:54PM
Thousands of foreign workers will be turned away from Britain next month when the Government introduces an immigration cap for the first time.
Theresa May, the Home Secretary, is to announce a nine-month temporary limit to prevent a last-minute influx as workers from outside the EU try to beat permanent new controls due to come into force next April.
Just 24,100 workers from outside the EU will be allowed into the country before then and highly skilled migrants will have to meet more stringent conditions. But it will not be enough for the Conservatives to meet their election pledge to reduce net migration — which includes students and EU citizens — to beneath 100,000 this year.
David Willetts, a minister at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, both raised concerns in Cabinet discussions this week that a cap could hamper business. Mrs May was said to be “none too pleased” at leaks of the talks, which one senior minister blamed on “Lib Dem mischief-making”. She will strongly reject claims that the policy is being watered down when she begins a consultation on Monday.
Sir Andrew Green, the chairman of Migrationwatch, which campaigns for tighter immigration controls, said: “It is not surprising that those who have a financial interest in continuing high levels of immigration should oppose the measures necessary to get the totals down but the electorate has spoken. The Government made a commitment and it must be fulfilled in the coming years.”
Latest figures show that a total of 54,500 non-EU economic migrants came to Britain last year. A further 273,000 visas were issued to foreign students and another 38,000 people were allowed in to be reunited with their family, many coming from the Indian sub-continent.
Whitehall sources admit that curbing the number of non-EU economic migrants will not be sufficient to reduce overall net migration, which in 2008 was 163,000, to the levels seen in the mid-1990s when it was about 50,000.
A further fall is likely because of the recession, but sources admit that action may be needed to reduce student and family reunion numbers.
A Whitehall source said: “There is no watering down of the policy. The temporary cap is an indication of the way we hope to go.”Mrs May will produce a range of options. The final cap, part of a strategy to reduce net migration to 50,000 by the end of this Parliament, will depend on which is chosen.
The impact of immigration on public services will be as significant an element of the consultation as the needs of the economy, insiders insist. New research detailing which services and which regions bear the brunt of increased demand as a result of migration will be released, alongside updated lists of skills where there is a shortage of workers.
The coalition Government will also consult on measures to ensure that British workers are trained to plug skills shortages over time. The quota of less-skilled migrants is to fall by 1,300, while those with higher skills must meet a higher salary requirement under the temporary cap.
There will be no restrictions on the number of migrants allowed to come from an overseas company to a branch in Britain when the temporary cap comes into force on July 19.
But figures produced by the Office for Budget Responsibility suggest that the immigration cap could take billions of pounds out of the economy as companies struggle to fill vital vacancies. This week Damian Green, the Immigration Minister, said: “Our over-reliance on migrant labour has done nothing to help millions of unemployed and low-skilled British citizens who deserve . . . help to get back into work and improve their skills.”
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