New report calls for overhaul of immigration system

by LAUREN CODLING

FOREIGN students should be removed from the net migration target and highly-skilled workers be given more weight in the UK immigration system, a new parliamentary report has recommended.

Calls for the government to reduce its target of net migration by “tens of thousands” was a further recommendation of the Immigration Policy: basis for building consensus report, released on Monday (15) by the Home Affairs select committee.

Currently, the annual net migration is at 230,000. In 2010, former prime minister David Cameron set a target to reduce net migration by tens of thousands, but this mark was never met.

“The net migration target isn’t working to build confidence and it treats all migration the same,” Yvette Cooper, the chair of the Home Affairs select committee group, said.

“That’s why it should be replaced by a different framework of targets and controls. And frankly the system needs to work effectively.”

An interim report, the National Conversation on Immigration, said to be the biggest-ever public consultation on the issue, was released by independent thinktank British Future and campaign group Hope Not Hate on the same day as the select committee report.

Conducting citizens’ panels in over 40 towns and cities in every nation and region of the UK, the report visited a total of 60 locations overall, holding more than 130 meetings with members of the public.

The interim report, which revealed findings from the first 30 locations, found that when it comes to immigration, the majority of the public are “balancers”, seeing pressures and gains from the influx of people coming into the country.

Some of the negative responses to immigration, as put forward by panel participants in the National Conversation, included fears of a potential strain on the NHS and that migrants may be taking advantage of the benefits system.

It also revealed that people wanted migrants to contribute to Britain using the skills they have and the jobs they can do, and they lacked trust in the government in terms of controlling who comes into the UK through checks to exclude criminals and enforcement of immigration rules.

Jill Rutter, director of strategy at British Future and coordinator of the interim report, said the public should have more of a say in the choices as Britain decides its post-Brexit approach to immigration.

“[The National Conversation] is a model that should be taken up by the government on an ongoing basis,” she said. “People have really welcomed the chance to discuss the trade-offs involved on immigration.”

Sunder Katwala, the director of British Future, said a “striking” feature of the National Conversation was that “people felt the project was important but long overdue”.

“The public lack a clear sense of how they can have a voice – having voted in the referendum, many people feel in the dark about what happens next,” he said.

“The government’s task this year is to use the reset moment of Brexit to get a balanced package of reforms right. They will not succeed without giving the public a voice in making those choices too.” (see more in Katwala’s comment for Eastern Eye here.)

Labour MP Naz Shah, who is also a member of the select committee and was involved in the findings presented by them, told Eastern Eye the “bold report [by the committee]” addresses the issue that the government has “lost the narrative on immigration”.

“It has been eight years since the net migration was set by David Cameron and it has never been met in that time,” she said. “It’s about time that the government actually acknowledges the report and its findings. The British government needs to be reclaiming

the ownership of this narrative… and this report sets a really good way forward in terms of that conversation of that happening.”

Hotelier Surinder Arora, the founder and chairman of the Arora Group, told Eastern Eye on Tuesday (16) although he agreed with certain recommendations relating to foreign students and high-skilled workers, he stressed it was important “to attract more people from overseas”.

Arora highlighted the fact that he had struggled to recruit good staff whilst working on opening a new hotel 18 months ago in east London. “I think since Brexit things have gone much worse – [businesses] are suffering as they can’t recruit,” said Arora.

“We opened a hotel 18 months ago and it’s been tough as hell to get good staff and the right people. Then there are people who don’t want to do these low paid jobs such as housekeeping or porting or receptionist.

“I hope the government will look at these things, not just from the hospitality sector but also nurses, doctors and other workers [from the public sector].”

Arora added that a lot of Eastern Europeans had gone back to their native countries as the exchange rate was more in their favour.

“Everyone is suffering, and we do need to make it easier rather than throwing obstacles in the way and going backwards,” he said.

Raminder Ranger CBE, the founder of international marketing and distribution company Sun Mark, said he thinks we must only invite individuals to the UK who can fulfill the skill shortages in the country.

"Bringing migrants who are not needed will overwhelm not only our already over stretched public services but also add strain on the race relation in Britain," Ranger told Eastern Eye.

The businessman said he has had first hand experiences concerning difficulties in hiring staff due to the government's current quota system.

"In fact many employers are suffering due to the difficulties of finding the right staff in the UK and the Curry Industry is one of them," Ranger said. "I too am facing difficulties to hire staff for my business - the government’s current quota system is proving to be detrimental to many businesses as work permit is given to those who score the high points and not to those who are also required by industry and employers."

Prominent businessman and entrepreneur Bhanu Choudhrie, the founder of private equity business C & C Alpha Group, told Eastern Eye that in the post- Brexit world, the UK should be signalling that “it is open for business”.

“I’m aware that the issue of immigration was central to the Brexit vote and it needs to be handled sensitively, but I don’t believe we should be discouraging skilled professionals with something to offer from coming to Britain, whether or not they are coming from inside or outside the EU,” Choudhrie explained.

The businessman noted that despite myths surrounding migrants having a negative economic effect, this is statistically incorrect.

“In fact, one third of all international migrants are educated to tertiary level and 90 per cent of the world’s 245 million international migrants move voluntarily rather than seeking asylum or refugee status,” Choudrie asserted.

Other recommendations from the home affair report include creating a permanent resettlement programme for asylum seekers and setting up an annual migration report which details the economic contribution from migration.

In response to the report, a spokesperson for the Home Office said: “The British people sent a very clear message in the EU referendum: they want more control of immigration and our borders. That is why we are committed to reducing net migration to sustainable levels.

“Net migration figures have fallen steadily over the past four quarters, and after we leave the EU we will put in place an immigration system which works."