Arguments for migrant worker cut - 19th November 2010
A government-led
committee has called
for a cut in the
number of migrant
workers allowed into
Britain from outside
of the EU.
The migration
advisory committee
has said that
workers from outside
the EU should face a
cut of between 13%
and 25% to begin the
aim of reducing
immigration into the
UK into the “tens of
thousands”.
The calls come as
recent Office for
National Statistics
figures show that
the number of
workers coming to
British shores from
India has risen by a
quarter over the
last year. David
Metcalf, chairman of
the committee has
said that the number
of visas for skilled
workers under what
are known as Tier
One and Tier Two
should be reduced by
almost 13,000 from
the 2009 figure of
50,000 though he
admitted that even
targeting reducing
skilled workers from
outside of the EU
will not achieve the
government’s aim of
drastically reducing
net migration.
Other measures may
have to be
introduced including
raising the bar for
entry and cutting
foreign students and
family-related
settlement.
Immigration minister
Damien Green has
said that the
government will
shortly announce its
decision on the
immigration cap.
