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Labour Immigration Policy
Fair rules for the immigration system
Fair rules for the immigration system
Global migration takes place on a scale unthinkable even twenty years ago and we must respond accordingly to keep pace with these new circumstances. Controlled migration brings undoubted benefits to our country but we also recognise people’s legitimate concerns about the impact it can have on communities if not properly managed.
Net inward migration to Britain as measured by the Office for National Statistics has fallen for the last three years. We are delivering the biggest changes to our immigration, citizenship and border security systems for decades – we are bringing in a new Australian-style points-based immigration system which allows us to be more selective so that only those with the skills that we need to build a stronger economy can come here, and to ensure that as growth returns, we will see rising levels of employment, skills and wages not more immigration.
We have brought in 100 per cent biometric visas, are rolling out ID cards for foreign nationals, and electronic border controls will count people in and out of the country by the end of 2010. To build on this we will introduce a points-based system for permanent residence and citizenship clearly spelling out the rights and obligations of legal migrants to Britain, as well as the requirements for earning British citizenship. These requirements will include learning English, paying tax and obeying the law – because we believe those who look to build a new life here should earn the right to do so. Our Earned Citizenship plans for newcomers, together with the points-based immigration system will reduce overall numbers of economic migrants coming to Britain and the numbers awarded permanent settlement.
Controlled Migration
The long term benefit to the UK economy from migration is significant and will be vital to ensuring the UK’s long-term economic recovery. HM Treasury estimates that new migrants contributed £6 billion to Britain’s economy in 2006 – paying far more tax than they took in benefits. The Australian-style points-based system will allow us to be more selective so that only those with the skills that we need to build a stronger economy can come here.
The points-based system replaces the 80 or so immigration routes which developed over the decades with 5 clear routes. Tier 1 allows the highest skilled individuals who will contribute to growth and productivity. Tier 2 allows individuals transferring to Britain within multinational companies, and skilled workers who have a job offer to fill a gap in the labour force, but only after that job has been advertised widely in the UK, including in Jobcentre Plus for four weeks. Tier 3 – covering unskilled workers – is closed. Tier 4 is the student route, where we have recently tightened the rules and expect numbers to fall next year. Tier 5 includes specialist categories. Over the period we have introduced the points-based system, net inward migration has been falling from 237,000 in 2007 to 163,000 in 2008 and provisional figures of 147,000 in 2009. And we should remember that most migrants come to the UK for short periods of time and then return to their own country: of those who arrived in 1998, only a quarter are still here.
We will use the points-based system and electronic border controls to maintain downward pressure on the key economic routes except the highly skilled, people transferring to Britain within global companies, and university students, to ensure that as growth returns, we see rising levels of employment and wages not rising immigration. But we will do this through a flexible system not an arbitrary pre-determined quota that would damage British business and growth – and that would not apply to most of those who wish to come here – including EU citizens, family members, and students.
Attracting highly skilled migrants with scarce or specialist skills is essential to our continued success and influence in the new global economy. But that does not mean there aren’t risks or costs to immigration or that we shouldn’t acknowledge them and do our best to minimise them. The impacts of migration are felt differently by different communities and migration can place short term pressures on local public services including councils, schools, NHS and the police. So as well as controlling immigration we will lead the way in helping communities manage migration. We have introduced measures to help communities manage migration at a local level including the Migration Impacts Fund which is paid for by an extra levy on new migrants as they enter our country, and over the last two years has contributed £70 million to services in local areas to help lessen the short-term impacts on local communities new migration can have.We have reformed housing allocation policy, empowering local authorities to give greater priority to local people, and to those who have spent a long time on the waiting list.
It is not true that the downturn fell harder on British-born workers than on foreign born workers – in the last 12 months, employment among British born workers fell by 1.7 per cent; employment among foreign born workers fell by 1.9 per cent. And under the Points Based System jobs are now advertised with Jobcentre Plus for 4 weeks before employers can look to recruit from abroad to ensure resident workers get the first chance. And to ensure fairness employers must now advertise skilled jobs to resident workers through JobCentre Plus for four weeks before they can bring in a worker from outside Europe.
Migration within the EU is a two-way street. There are around 1m EU citizens working in Britain, and about the same number of British people living in the EU – with the same rights to work and benefits as EU citizens have here. Like most immigrants, those from the EU often don’t stay – more than 100,000 eastern Europeans went home last year. Thanks to tougher rules we brought in, the proportion of recent migrants who are claiming benefits is also falling: less than 3 per cent of migrants claimed benefits in the first 6 months in 2007-08 compared to from 12.5 per cent in 2002-03.
Strengthening our borders
We are taking extensive action to strengthen our borders. We have more than doubled the number of immigration officers at the border, set up a new single border force with new powers to guard our ports and airports, 100 per cent of visas are now biometric, enabling us to crack down on immigration offenders, and we are rolling out ID cards for foreign nationals, with 170,000 already issued. We are bringing in electronic border controls to count people in and out of the country – over 95 per cent by the end of 2010 – and enforcement of Britain’s border controls now starts overseas with British border staff based on the continent stopping suspect travellers before they travel, and fingerprint checks before visas are issued. The new Australian-style points based system will enable us to be more selective about who we let in and will ensure that we only have the migrants with the skills we need to secure our economic future and compete in the global economy – and to ensure that as growth returns, we will see rising levels of employment, skills and wages not more immigration.
The reputation of the UK’s further and higher education sectors is world class. The UK will therefore remain one of the most desirable destinations in the world for students and we remain open to those who want to undertake legitimate studies here. But we will come down hard on those that flout the rules. Earlier this year we toughened the requirements for prospective students coming to the UK, introducing pre-entry English language criteria, dramatically reducing the hours that overseas students are able to work and curbed their ability to bring dependants to the UK. We have already taken a tougher approach to closing down bogus colleges so that the student visa route is less open to exploitation by those who have come here to work, not study.
In an age when we are regularly required to prove our identity, we remain convinced of the benefits of the National Identity scheme, particularly for the most vulnerable in society. We have looked again at how to give security to Britain’s citizens without undermining their liberties. Membership of the ID system will be offered to an increasing number of British citizens, including when they renew their passports, but there will be no compulsory ID cards for British citizens. The ID scheme will help protect individuals and communities from the growing threat of identity theft and fraud, as well as illegal working, people trafficking, money laundering, benefit fraud and terrorist activity. Criminals and terrorists are known to use multiple identities to avoid detection. The ID scheme will make it much harder to use false or multiple identities by securely linking a person's unique identity to a national identity register using biometrics – facial recognition and fingerprints.
Labour will take further action to shut down the causes of illegal immigration. using our new Border Agency – with 5,000 more immigration staff than in 1997, 25,000 in total – new local immigration teams rolling out across the country, the new ID scheme and our new electronic border controls which by counting people in and out will help to identify overstayers as well as illegals. We have removed more foreign national prisoners year on year for the last three years. We will also take tough action against rogue employers who knowingly hire illegal workers, often exploiting them and undercutting the minimum wage. Those found to have knowingly hired illegal workers could incur an unlimited fine and be sent to prison – 3,800 penalties have been imposed since tough new rules came in during 2008. With the new ID scheme, employers will know that everyone entitled to work will have either a passport or ID card – they will be able to demand to see one or other – so there will be no excuse for employers who hire illegal labour. Even a sophisticated forged ID card or passport based on fingerprints would not fool the system as it wouldn’t show up on the ID register. We will enforce strict penalties against immigrants or their employers if they break the rules. In order to lift the number of people we remove from Britain we will continue expanding our detention estate.
Earned citizenship
While Labour recognises the valuable contribution people who have come to the country have made and continue to make we believe that it is fair that those who look to build a new life here should earn the right to do so. Labour will set out a new agenda where the rights and responsibilities of becoming a British citizen have to be earned. Under the new system full access to benefits and social housing will be reserved for citizens and permanent residents – saving hundreds of millions per year for the taxpayer.
This Points-Based System will ensure that only those who share our values can earn the right to stay by clearly spelling out the rights and obligations of legal immigrants to Britain, as well as the requirements for earning British citizenship. These requirements will include learning English, paying tax and obeying the law.
Asylum
Britain has a long tradition of providing a safe haven to those in need. Labour is proud of this history and we will continue to provide a place of refuge for the oppressed and those legitimately seeking asylum and the security of our care. We believe that when it comes to asylum cases, faster decisions are often fairer decisions and we will continue to deliver a compassionate system, making and enforcing decisions quickly with the majority of asylum cases concluded within six months.
Asylum claims are at record lows – down 6 per cent to 24,250 last year, for the fifth year running Asylum claims are stable around 1990 levels. The costs of asylum support to the taxpayer have more than halved in last 6 years. The 'backlog' - caused by a system which in 1998 was taking an average of 2 years to make a decision - is now down to 1980s levels. Britain is no longer seen as a soft touch - the UK now ranks 13th out of 27 in per-head numbers of asylum seekers.
Labour ill continue in its steadfast determination to tackle the horrendous crime of human trafficking. By ratifying the Council of Europe Convention Against Trafficking - a Europe-wide agreement about setting minimum standards for protecting and supporting trafficking victims- we are strengthening the UK’s ability to catch the criminals that exploit victims of trafficking. Through the establishment of the UK Human Trafficking Centre we are committed to working to support these particularly vulnerable victims and we will continue to work both at home and with our European partners to end this horrific crime.
Our values
We understand people’s concerns about immigration and we know it needs to be tightly controlled – as our points based system is doing. Net migration has fallen. Office for National Statistics' figures show it fell by 30 per cent from 233,000 in 2007 to 163,000 in 2008. We believe it is important to debate immigration, including issues around jobs, access to benefits and services, and housing. But unlike other parties, we will never seek to play on people’s fears. We understand the immense contribution that those coming from overseas have made to our country – economically, socially, and culturally – and we believe that not only is Britain’s history one of a nation that has always been outward-looking and receptive to trade, ideas and the talents of others - our future must be too.
Labour’s record:
•In 2008, a person was removed or departed voluntarily on average every 8 minutes, including record numbers of foreign criminals.
•Asylum applications for the last three months of 2009 were the lowest since the early 1990’s. The fall in applications has been dramatic from over 80,000 asylum claims in 2000 to around 23,400 in 2007. The cost of asylum support to the taxpayer has halved in the last 6 years.
•We have introduced 100 per cent biometric visas and are rolling out compulsory ID cards for foreign nationals who come here to work or study - 170,000 have been issued so far.
•Ratified the Council of Europe Convention Against Trafficking, strengthening the UK’s ability to catch the criminals that exploit victims of trafficking and underlining our long-term commitment to tackle this horrific crime.
•Rogue employers now face civil penalties of up to £10,000 for each illegal worker they employ. Those found to have knowingly hired illegal workers can incur an unlimited fine and be sent to prison.
_________________ Mick Hildreth (07814 032002)
GMB PDB P39 Southern Region Branch Secretary
mick.hildreth@gmbtaxis.org.uk
www.gmbpdb.org.uk
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