Downing Street Says » Podcast on immigration

Doing the right thing for jobs and for a strong economy – and ensuring fairness for hard working families – is the central theme of this week s budget.

But I recognise that among the concerns you must address when you talk of fairness is immigration.

Some people talk as if net inward migration is rising. In fact, it is falling down from 237,000 in 2007, to 163,000 in 2008, to provisional figures of 147,000 last year.

Some people talk as if all immigrants stay here forever. In fact, most come for short periods and then return to their own country.

Our new points system is radically changing the way we are dealing with immigration from outside the European Union.

The essence of it is to refuse entry to people who cannot contribute to the economy in the way we need – and to clearly delineate those skills that we cannot immediately generate in our own country.

In the last week we have taken a further step forward: following the report of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, we are now able to indentify the skills shortages and bottlenecks holding back British businesses – and how they can be addressed this year and in future years.

The first conclusion I draw is that we will continue to have less need for unskilled migrant workers – so for this year and for the foreseeable future none from outside the european union will be allowed in.

The second conclusion I draw is that – as our investment in the training of young people and adult workers raises our local skills levels – the need for skilled migrant workers can be substantially reduced without damaging the prospects of British companies.

Tier 1 of the points system covers the highest skilled individuals around 30,000 people last year.

Tier 2 covers those workers transferring to Britain within multinational companies – and those skilled workers with a job offer to fill a gap in the labour market.

But they can only take it up after that job has been advertised widely here, including now for four weeks in a jobcentre plus.

The Independent Migration Advisory Committee has just revised the shortage occupation list and we will ask them to look at how quickly they can remove the top two occupations, chefs and care assistants, by improving skills in these sectors and co-ordinating these adjustments to the points based system with the work of the Sector Skills Councils.

These numbers are already being reduced based on tightening of the criteria and assessment of economic need – not because of an arbitrary quota that would be a self-defeating gesture, potentially denying us the new workers we most value.

So our new points system is more selective than ever before – ensuring that only those who have the skills to benefit our economy can come. And it is also more resilient in allowing us to meet our economic needs.

Students bring financial and other benefits to our universities and the wider economy.

But we must be careful that all who come are legitimately here to study. So we ve just introduced stricter rules reducing the hours students can work, regulating colleges and bringing in a pre-entry English test.

And we estimate a drop of around 40,000 foreign students in the coming year. But it is right that we continue to attract the university-level students who come to study and research each year.

Now I understand how people worry about immigration – that it can lead to unfairness, with some taking advantage of the freedom and opportunities we offer without making a fair contribution or playing by the rules.

So we re determined to ensure that all newcomers face up to their responsibilities.

And by extending the control of the points based approach, citizenship – or the right to stay permanently – will no longer depend simply on the time spent here but on economic contribution, competence in english and adherence to the law.

We ve already reformed housing allocation policy, empowering local authorities to give greater priority to local people and to those who have spent a long time on the waiting list.

And we re also taking action to identify illegal workers and those overstaying their visa with the help of our new electronic border controls which will be counting people in and out from the end of this year.

Central to our policy of tackling illegal working is biometric ID cards for foreign nationals leaving employers with no excuse for hiring illegal workers and making it easier for illegals to be identified and removed.

Britain can be proud of the contribution people who have come from other countries have made to our country and Britain has a long tradition of diversity and tolerance. A sensible immigration debate is an important part of preserving that tradition.

In the coming years, we will ensure also that as growth returns, we see rising employment in Britain.

A strong skills and employment policy and controlled migration are not polar opposites they complement each other.

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» Wednesday, February 26, 0110

Podcast on immigration

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