Government gives work permits to 70,000 unemployed migrants despite rising unemployment in Britain
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MP Frank Field attacked the decision to give work permits - which grant access to benefits - to migrants without jobs
Work permits have been handed out by the Government to 70,000 migrants without jobs, it emerged last night.
They have been granted permission to come to the UK to seek work despite rising levels of unemployment.
Yesterday, official figures showed 1.72 million people out of work - the highest total since the spring of 1999.
The Balanced Migration campaign group, established earlier this month, attacked the decision to hand out work permits - which grant access to benefits - to people without jobs.
MPs Frank Field and Nicholas Soames, co-chairmen of the group, said: 'Unemployment has been rising steadily for 7 months. Meanwhile the Government has given work permits to nearly 70,000 migrants over the last three years, none of whom had a job to go.
'We fully recognise that British companies need access to skilled labour – at least until British workers can be adequately trained – but at a time of rising unemployment, where is the sense in admitting people, however skilled, if they have no job to go?'
The revelation that work permits were being handed out to jobless foreigners followed a string of Freedom of Information requests.
These showed they were handed out at a rate of 17,600 in 2005, 21,940 in 2006, and 30,250 in 2007.
All those in Britain with a valid work permit have entitlement to the welfare state.
The permits were dished out under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme, now known as Tier One of the Points Based System.
This allows migrants with sufficient points to come to the UK and look for a job.
There is no requirement that the job which they find should be skilled – although this will be taken into account if they wish to renew their permit.
Past examples have included migrants arriving under the 'highly skilled' scheme to secure jobs as taxi drivers.
Last week, the Government announced plans to slash the number of jobs available to skilled migrants by around 30 per cent, to 700,000.
Those who will find it harder to secure work permits include salaried GPs, some nurses, teachers, social workers and care home staff.
But the recommendation by the Home Office's Migration Advisory Committee only apply to those workers covered by Tier Two of the new points-based scheme - which applies to 'skilled' rather than 'highly-skilled' migrants - not Tier One.
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