Post
by circa21Ktax » Wed Feb 25, 2009 12:12 pm
Rough transcript Jacqui Smith’s Transcript with Andrew Marr (Sunday 22 Feb)
For the record, my HSMP was granted in September 2007 (so due for extension before Nov 2009). My primary interest is whether or not extension HSMP applications will be affected (have reviewed above posts and have seen both arguments for and against), however my experience with UK Immigration is not one which necessarily leads me to believe that the people who answer the phones know very much.
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Andrew’s questions are in Italics.
JS: Well we have already set up with the Australian style points based system the ability to control migration into this country really for the benefit of the UK. We have already closed down the route into this country for non-skilled workers because we believe they are sufficient within the country. Given the current economic situation it is right for us to look at the PBS and make sure it is responding to the current economic circumstances.
What happens now?
JS: It should not be possible for someone to come into the UK to take a skilled job unless that job has been advertised to a British worker through Job Centre Plus, I am proposing we should more clearly link those areas where there are shortages of skills in this country with actually trying to grow the skills within British workers (Skills review and skills action alongside everywhere where we shortages) In the Tier 1, where the most skilled people come into the country and don’t need to have a job that we really make sure that they are the most skilled. Raising the bar, a higher qualification as from this April, I am announcing than has previously been the case. Because I think it was right, migration is important for this country but at a time when we have more people actually looking for work within the UK, it is also economically right that we are more selective about those coming into the country.
[We have] talked about people coming in and out of the UK but you can’t change the rules regarding the EU… talking overwhelmingly about people coming from Pakistan and India and some from Africa people will say in effect this is dearly beloved. This is targeting people from black and brown skin and not targeting people from Europe
JS: Well it genuinely isn’t. I hope in our debate about immigration we have gotten beyond that. We built the PBS and implemented it over the last year to enable us to be selective about people who come into this country in order to work.
2/3 of people (foreign workers born outside the UK) are from outside the EU.
JS; Interesting(ly) what we know, those people travelling within the EU, there are fewer of those coming to the UK. [Workers registration scheme and Tory bashing et al].
There have been rumours or indications that you want to clamp down on the families of migrant workers coming here. Can you legally do that?
JS: What I think it is important this is not able to prejudice but about what is best for the British economy and British workers. That is why I have asked the MAC , headed by David Metcalf to look both at whether or not there is more that we need for those who are coming here for skilled jobs.
Coming back to the question, can you stop the families of migrant workers coming here if you wanted to do that?
JS: We have not decided what we want to do but we have asked David Metcalfe of the MAC to look at the economic impact of the dependants of migrants who come here; their access to the labour market, the extent to which they as well as families need to demonstrate the contribution on the UK economy. It is important that we base that on evidence.
You are having to do this in part because of one of the most catastrophic sound bites of recent history; British jobs for British workers.
JS: No we are doing this because we said when we set up the PBS that we were setting it up in order to make sure that migration worked for the benefit of the UK economy that we controlled it in order to make sure that those who came here helped the UK
Do you think that during the good years, too many people came in?
JS; No, I think migration has played a very important role in the UK economy in periods of growth. There is an economic analysis about the contribution of migration, I think it is right in the circumstance we are in at the moment that that we look at being more selective at getting the skills from outside that we need and developing the skills within the UK that we need for when we come out of this recession so when we need home-grown and migrant skills
