Downing Street Says » Cross-Government Meeting on Immigration

The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman reminded journalists that where the government recognised there was a problem, as with asylum, it would rationally address that problem and that was why the Prime Minister was chairing a cross-governmental meeting on immigration tomorrow. It would bring together in a stocktake the Prime Minister; the Home Secretary, David Blunkett; Ministers from Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Work and Pensions. The Attorney General would attend, to ensure that consideration was given to issues of law, as well as representatives from the security services that tackle organised crime. The PMOS said that tomorrow’s aim was to identify the problems and the concerns, to define those concerns and produce a work programme that could be considered at future regular meetings, also to be chaired by the PM, but it was the Home Secretary who would drive forward that work programme between meetings. The PMOS said that the Prime Minister was determined not to let abuses of the system poison the whole idea of managed migration, which brought enormous benefits to the country. Immigrants to this country made up 8% of the population, but contributed 10% of the total wealth. They contributed £2.5bn more than they used in public services and that fact should not be lost sight of. They were doctors; nurses; au pairs; registered electricians and plumbers. The CBI, businesses and unions all recognised that in a country where there was virtually full employment but where there was still half a million job vacancies that the economy needed managed economic migration. In answer to questions about the origin of these figures the PMOS referred journalist to the Home Office. Asked when the meeting had been arranged the PMOS said that it was arranged at the back end of last week.

Asked if the Home Secretary’s role had been reduced the PMOS said that just as in Street Crime Initiative that brought together various departments to address a problem, this issue by its very nature involved other departments, particularly the FCO and DWP but also the Attorney General and representatives of the security services. So in terms of bringing them together and their knowledge of the issues and their knowledge of solutions and achieving co-ordination the Prime Minister had a role to play. However in between those meetings the Home Secretary would drive progress and the work programme devised tomorrow forward. It was highly right that the PM should take a lead role in a particular issue and make sure the decline in public confidence in the integrity in some of the processes was checked and reversed, as was the case with the figures on asylum. The Prime Minister took responsibility for the Government achieving what it set out to do and as with the success of the Street Crime Initiative and the halving of the number of asylum applications no doubt due credit would be given to any successes in this particular issue too.

Asked if the Prime Minister would be making his own papers available to the Sutton inquiry the PMOS said that all the relevant material would be made available, but it was a matter for Ken Sutton to decide what papers were relevant to his inquiry.

3 Comments »

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Comment by Roger Huffadine — 5 Apr 2004 on 5:56 pm | Link
Blair could have a meeting, even a summit, in private. Why the publicity? He’s surely trying to convince the public of something. That he’s doing something presumably. Why doesn’t he just do something and, if it is effective, let the people be the judges. It’s more nonsense!
Comment by damon smith — 6 Apr 2004 on 6:22 pm | Link
C’mon. A start has been made:

"Fifty-eight people are being questioned by immigration officers after they were picked up in co-ordinated raids in Sheffield and Leeds. Ten locations including two massage parlours were targeted by more than 300 police and immigration officers. . . " – from:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/3634309.stm

Of course, there are several ways of looking at this pre-emptive strike against a flagrant example of outsourcing which has clearly deprived local citizens of extensive opportunities for voluntary work if not well-paid jobs through unfair competition from non-unionised businesses. But then these enterprises catering for what to all appearances was evidently a substantial and flourishing local market may have been an unintended consequence of Mr Blonkett’s misguided venture into Ostpolitik c. 1984 when he was Sheffield council leader. Who knows?
Comment by Bob — 17 Apr 2004 on 11:02 pm | Link

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» Monday, April 5, 2004

Cross-Government Meeting on Immigration

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