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Home Secretary James Cleverly has announced new measures which aim to cut annual net migration by 300,000
The Home Secretary has announced a new plan to cut migration levels in the UK, which includes increasing the earning threshold by almost 50%.
From next spring, the government will increase starting salaries for overseas workers from its current level of £26,200 to £38,700.
The new measures are intended to reduce annual net migration by 300,000.
As part of the plan, the government will replace the Shortage Occupation List with a new Immigration Salary List. The current list includes skilled workers such as bricklayers and chartered surveyors.
The government will also scrap the 20% going rate salary discount for shortage occupations, while the new Immigration Salary List will retain a general threshold discount.
The Migration Advisory Committee will review the new list against the increased salary thresholds in order to reduce the number of occupations on the list.
Graduate visas
The Migration Advisory Committee will also be asked to undertake a review of the graduate visa route.
Earlier this year, the government announced a package of measures to cut the number of student visas being issued.
This included removing the right for international students to bring dependants unless they are on postgraduate research courses and removing the ability for international students to switch onto work routes before their studies are completed.
This will come into force for courses starting in January 2024.
‘Decisive action’
Commenting on the migration plans, Home Secretary James Cleverly said: “It is clear that net migration remains far too high. By leaving the European Union we gained control over who can come to the UK, but far more must be done to bring those numbers down so British workers are not undercut and our public services put under less strain.
“My plan will deliver the biggest ever reduction in net migration and will mean around 300,000 people who came to the UK last year would not have been able to do so. I am taking decisive action to halt the drastic rise in our work visa routes and crack down on those who seek to take advantage of our hospitality.”
Charlotte Wills, a partner at global immigration law firm Fragomen said: “The UK immigration system is quick and objective. The question is, with the new increases to salary thresholds and other measures, combined with yet more rises to soon to be introduced fees, has the government gone too far in prioritising politics over economics and risks undoing the good work so far done by the immigration system?
“The 47.7% increase of the salary threshold for sponsored workers is truly staggering and raises concerns for those sectors who have relied on migrant workers post-Brexit to fill labour shortages whilst implementing training programmes to solve the problem on a longer-term basis.”
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Of all the sectors, construction will be hit by this, perhaps the government should start incentivising construction to young people in what would be some attempt to fix the skills gap. The reality seems to be that migrant workers are far better qualified than a large proportion of UK construction workers who seem to think that completing 6 months of their training allows them to call themselves bricklayers or carpenters. This is why construction quality in the UK is declining, when is the government going to mandate a minimum qualification system such as in use in Germany. If your not qualified you don’t work, seems fairly simple?
The government are using the migrants whether legal or illegal to justify their shortcomings. Policy over the last 13 years and previous administrations demonstrate that the construction industry is low on the current government’s priorities. Even Margaret Thatcher had a moratorium. The government also allow migrant workers to be paid less than British workers.
Government organisation around the globe are on full charge of keeping their jobs, to prevent superpowers losing out, they send less powerful candidates to take the blame, such practice used for centuries, there after in political environments.
The truth is that there should never be the need of travelling for a plate on the table and a roof over your head, instead there should be a global entity that takes charge in a most humanitarian resourcing input, that can help all countries around the globe to cope and love equally.
Instead we have materials sold for nothing and transported around the globe, but when humans travel to find the same fairness and work/life balance, those are criticised and made relevantly illegal to all fronts.
The real illegality is preventing that all people on this planet can have the same fair life, rather than many poor people, many wars and few reach people in charge.
There has never been a victory in Capitalism or Communism, both are a failure For humanity.
I don’t have enough knowledge to describe and resource better ideas, but equally proportion of wealth and sanity is generally most convenient for a healthy looking planet.
Somehow we are still failing as human beings, and failing the future of our children and future lives.