- Miatta Fahnbulleh says longer settlement wait could harm cohesion
- Mahmood plans to extend the wait from five to 15 years
- Angela Rayner has also criticised the plans
- Burnham considering an exemption for care workers
ENERGY SECRETARY Miatta Fahnbulleh has criticised home secretary Shabana Mahmood’s plans to make migrants wait longer for permanent settlement, deepening a cabinet split over immigration.
In a post on her constituency website, Fahnbulleh said extending the wait for indefinite leave to remain could “prolong the process of building cohesion”, The Telegraph reported.
“Ultimately, I want to see a system based on control and compassion, with a much stronger focus on integration,” she wrote, urging Labour to “challenge divisive political rhetoric”.
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Mahmood plans to extend the qualifying period from five to 15 years, with shorter waits for migrants who earn above a set salary or contribute to their communities, for example through voluntary work. Critics say the changes would hit low-paid care workers, many of whom are migrants.
Allies of Fahnbulleh said the post, written by her team to summarise a town hall meeting, had poorly paraphrased her views and would be updated. As a cabinet minister, she is bound by collective responsibility to support government policy.
Fahnbulleh, who came to Britain as a child refugee from Liberia, told the Guardian last month that the rules “would have been tough” for her family.
Communities secretary Angela Rayner has also attacked the plans, saying they would “change the goalposts” for care workers already in the UK.
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Mahmood has hinted she could soften the reforms, and prime minister Andy Burnham has indicated he is rethinking them, with an exemption for care workers among the likeliest options.
The Home Office said settlement “must be earned and not automatic” and that it was considering responses to its consultation.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said cabinet ministers were “openly campaigning against their own government’s supposed immigration policy”.
