Labour plans new curbs on migration and visas for foreign workers

[dutchman]

Yvette Cooper said immigration is really important for Britain but it needs to be ‘properly controlled and managed’ so the system is fair



Labour would curb immigration by putting time limits on how long companies are able to import foreign workers in shortage occupations, the shadow home secretary has said.

Yvette Cooper told the Telegraph a beefed up Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) would set “timescales” for how long roles should be on the shortage occupation list which grants access to visas.

Setting specific time limits would provide an incentive for companies to train more British staff, the party believes.

The development comes after official figures published last week revealed that annual net migration has hit a record high of 606,000.

In what will be seen as an audacious attempt to outflank the Tories on immigration, Labour is proposing a package of reforms to wean the UK off its dependence on foreign labour.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Ms Cooper attacked the Tories over their record on immigration, saying there had been a “huge gap between the rhetoric and the reality”.

“That undermines confidence in the whole system”, she said. “Immigration is really important for Britain, but it needs to be properly controlled and managed so that the system is fair.”

She said Labour’s plans would centre on the “reform and strengthening” of the MAC, which provides independent recommendations to the Home Office on migration.

“It only does very periodic reviews, and we want it to be able to look at not simply which occupations are on the shortage occupation list, but also what would be a sensible timescale,” Ms Cooper said. “How long should they be on the shortage occupation list for?”

Labour points out that some occupations such as nurses and civil engineers have been on the list for 15 years.

“At the moment, occupations stay on the shortage occupation list, and they rarely ever come off,” Ms Cooper said.

“There may be some occupations where you’re talking about really rare international skills where there may always need to be overseas recruitment, but there may be other areas where actually this is about a lack of training here in the UK and it shouldn’t be on the shortage occupation list.”

At the same time, Labour would link the MAC to its new planned skills body, Skills England, to make sure training plans are developed to fill shortages with homegrown workers.

Ms Cooper said the MAC would also be given extra resources and more freedom to determine its own work, rather than having to be commissioned by the Home Office. “It should be able to be much more responsive where it sees difficult issues arising in the labour market,” she said. Labour has already committed to scrapping the current rule which allows businesses to hire workers on the shortage occupation list at a 20 per cent discount on the going rate.

And Ms Cooper did not rule out raising the minimum salary threshold for companies wishing to hire skilled workers from abroad. “That’s something we think should always be a matter for advice from the MAC,” she said.