Government 'in retreat' over immigration, claims Labour

Home Secretary Theresa May announced the number of skilled migrant workers coming to Britain from outside the EU would be cut by a fifth and capped at 21,700 from next year.

But shadow home secretary Ed Balls said there was "confusion" about the policy and claimed it was a "con" because there was no limit on the number of intra-company transfers.

In her statement to the Commons Mrs May said there would be a new minimum salary of 40,000 for firms using such transfers to bring their own people into the UK for more than a year to do specific jobs.

Mr Balls also challenged the Home Secretary on whether it remained the intention to reduce net immigration to the "tens of thousands" by 2015 but Mrs May would not be drawn on confirming the target date.

Mrs May insisted that the UK Border Agency would be able to enforce the immigration policy despite today's announcement that thousands of jobs would be lost.

Mrs May told MPs that controlled migration brought benefits but "when immigration gets out of control it places great pressure on our society, economy and public services".

She said: "We must tighten up our immigration system, focusing on tackling abuse and supporting only the most economically beneficial migrants.

"To achieve this we will have to take action across all routes to entry - work visas, student visas, family visas - and break the link between temporary routes and permanent settlement."

The number of workers entering the UK under tier one and tier two of the points-based system would be reduced from 28,000 to 21,700.

Skilled workers with job offers, who enter the UK on tier two visas under the points-based system, will be capped at 20,700 and will also be limited to graduate-level jobs, Mrs May said.

But the number of highly-skilled workers without a job offer - the old tier one route - would be limited to just 1,000, a cut of more than 13,000 and restricted to "exceptional" cases.

Mrs May said: "The old tier one - supposedly for the best and the brightest - has not attracted highly-skilled workers.

"At least 30% of tier one migrants work in low-skilled occupations such as stacking shelves, driving taxis or working as security guards and some don't have a job at all.

"So we will close the tier one general route.

"Instead, I want to use tier one to attract more investors, entrepreneurs and people of exceptional talent.

"Last year investors and entrepreneurs accounted for fewer than 300 people and that is not enough.

"So I will make the application process quicker, more user-friendly and I will not limit the numbers of these wealth creators who can come to Britain.

"There are also some truly exceptional people who should not need sponsorship from an employer but who we would wish to welcome to Britain.

"So I will introduce a new route within tier one for people of exceptional talent, the scientists, academics and artists who have achieved international recognition or are likely to do so and the number will be limited to 1,000 per year."

Mrs May said intra-company transfers would be kept outside the cap, but the new salary threshold would restrict the route to senior and specialist roles.

The majority of non-EU migrants were students, Mrs May said and unveiled plans to reform the student visa system.

"I will consult on restricting entry to only those studying at degree level, but with some flexibility for highly trusted sponsors to offer courses at a lower level," she said.

Those coming to the UK through family links would also face stiffer tests.

Mrs May said: "Clearly, British nationals must be able to marry the person of their choice. But those who come to the UK must be able to participate in society.

"From next week we will require all those applying for marriage visas to demonstrate a minimum standard of English."

The Government will also "end the link between temporary and permanent migration".

Mr Balls said Prime Minister David Cameron had pledged to "reduce net migration to the tens of thousands by 2015".

The cap had made it in to the coalition deal despite Liberal Democrat opposition but "since then the Government has been in wholesale retreat and today they have been in wholesale confusion over this policy.

"The CBI, the Chambers of Commerce, universities, Nobel prize winners, UK and foreign companies large and small have all highlighted the huge damage the Government's proposals would do to investment and jobs."

He said Business Secretary Vince Cable, a Lib Dem, had used "excellent public lobbying and guerilla tactics" to campaign against the cap.

He said Mrs May had "come to the House to confirm the details of the retreat. We will keep a close eye on her proposals to see how they actually affect business and science but we join business representatives in welcoming her decision to exempt intra-company transfers of workers".

But if the number of transfers goes up he asked: "Will she place an offsetting cut in tier one and tier two work permits, if not - and I very much hope not - can she confirm her supposed cap is in fact a con, a guess, a fig leaf, no cap at all?"

Giving evidence to a Commons committee today Sir David Normington, the permanent secretary at the Home Office, said 9,000 jobs at the department and its agencies would be lost - the bulk from the UK Border Agency.

Mr Balls asked Mrs May: "Can you confirm that you can implement this policy with those cuts and keep our borders secure?"

On the 2015 target, Mr Balls demanded: "Is it still the objective of the Prime Minister and the Government to cut net migration to the tens of thousands by 2015?"

In her statement Mrs May had "repeated the goal but omitted to put a date on that goal".

He asked: "Is the 'tens of thousands' pledge still binding by 2015, yes or no?"

Mrs May told him: "You asked me if the UK Borders Agency can manage the cuts and keep the borders secure with the changes in personnel that will be made at the UKBA and the answer to that is, unequivocally, yes, they can."

On the pledge, she said: "We aim to reduce net migration from the hundreds of thousands back down to the tens of thousands."

Mrs May was repeatedly asked by Labour MPs whether it remained the Government's intention to reduce net immigration to the "tens of thousands" by 2015 - and she eventually confirmed this was the case.

In an 'Allo 'Allo accent, the Home Secretary told Luciana Berger (Liverpool Wavertree): "Listen very carefully, I will say this only once."

She added: "We aim to reduce net migration from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands by the end of this Parliament."

Mrs May was asked by Liberal Democrat Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) how quickly the cap could be adjusted if it ended up either being too high or too low.

She replied: "We're confident in all the work that we've done that we've actually got this cap at the right point ...

"But there will be an annual review of this figure and that review will be undertaken by the Migration Advisory Committee (Mac), so they will be able to advise the Government on what the figures should be in the future, looking at the way behaviour has adapted to the policy changes that we're introducing."

Tory Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex), co-chairman of the Cross Party Group on Balanced Migration, welcomed the cap but pressed Mrs May on the "breaking of the link between settlement and people coming here temporarily to work".

She told him: "We are keen to look at these other routes, particularly the settlement route and other aspects, and we will be in coming months talking to the Mac asking them to look at this.

"So we can introduce that I would hope - I hesitate to put an absolute date on it - but certainly we would be looking into next year to be able to announce something further."

Labour's Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, welcomed the exemptions to the cap.

He said: "When you look at the issue of students, you will not be able to tackle the issue of bogus colleges if you accept a previous recommendation of the committee and that is to restrict the use of the word 'college'.

"It is because this word is continued to be used that people do enter this country and they pursue courses that are not educational courses."

Mrs May said she would look into his suggestion to make sure students were genuine.

Tory Stewart Jackson (Peterborough) warned against EU workers taking British jobs.

He told the Home Secretary: "Perhaps you will explain how importing high-skilled workers is practical, given that we've got record numbers of UK British graduates who could and should do those jobs?"

Mrs May said migration between the EU and UK had "broadly balanced out".

"But I see this immigration policy as needing to fit in very closely with the skills agenda that the Business Secretary (Vince Cable) announced last week," she said.

"It is the case that there will be on occasion some highly-skilled workers who have a specialism that British companies need, in areas like the energy sector."

Labour's Frank Field (Birkenhead), co-chairman of the cross party group on balanced migration, welcomed the statement on behalf of "many" of his constituents.

He said the UK's population was now "primarily pushed" by immigration.

"Can you give us more certainty when you are going to return to the House and make a statement on breaking the link between coming here to work, which is often welcome, and almost automatically getting the right to citizenship?"

Mrs May replied: "I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you in not being able to give you a date on when I'm going to be able to come to the House.

"But I can assure you that we will be coming to the House in due course to be able to show how we are going to be able to change that route."