A government minister has added to the controversy over a proposed immigration cap by highlighting the number of foreign workers coming into the UK.
Employment Minister Chris Grayling said that recent figures from the Office for National Statistics show that 204,000 foreign nationals found work in the UK last year compared to 100,000 who were British-born, suggesting that the rise in employment is largely fuelled by workers born outside of the UK.
His comments echo those of Sir Andrew Green, from MigrationWatch, who called on the government to improve incentives for British citizens at the expense of “economic migrants”.
The comments from the minister and Andrew Green came as the government’s migration advisory committee called for a large reduction in the number of visas issued in 2011/12 and said that those skilled workers with a job offer, known as tier two, should receive priority over highly skilled workers who are allowed in without a job offer, tier one. The calls come as new research from the UK Border Agency suggests that many of those who try and come into the country by the tier one route are not highly skilled as they claim and are filling relatively menial jobs such as supermarket cashiers and shop assistants.
Immigration Minister Damian Green aims to cut net migration from last year’s figure of 196,000 down to “tens of thousands” by 2015, though his proposals have attracted criticism from those who say that an immigration cap will make it harder for the UK to attract top scientists and researchers.
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