Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between James Cleverly and Kelly Tolhurst

Monday 15th April 2024 Commons Chamber

[James Cleverly]

Mr Speaker, I can assure you, the hon. Gentleman and the House that our contractors are expected to maintain standards and, where they fall below those standards, they will be held to account. I will absolutely take note of the case that the hon. Gentleman has raised.

[Kelly Tolhurst (Rochester and Strood) (Con)]

I welcome the measures my right hon. Friend has taken to tackle the levels of legal migration, but could he inform me what assessment he has made of the expected impact of the new immigration salary list and what impact that will have on the net migration figure?

[James Cleverly]

My hon. Friend is at the frontline of our fight against illegal migration, but legal migration is important. We have recognised that, for a number of reasons, the figures have been too high in the most recent couple of years and I have listed measures we have taken. The combined impact of that is that, by our estimations, under the new regime that I have put in place, 300,000 people who would previously have been eligible will no longer be eligible. That is the order of magnitude of change that we will eventually see once these proposals are fully implemented.

Legal Migration

Debate between James Cleverly and Kelly Tolhurst

Monday 4th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[James Cleverly]

It will be brought in in the early part of next year, in close co-ordination with the Migration Advisory Committee. No one who is already here will be disadvantaged. Ultimately, we want a high skilled, high wage, high productivity economy. The shadow Home Secretary says that the Labour party wants to address those issues, but I made a quiet prediction to myself and others that each and every intervention from the Labour Back Benches would be in complete contradiction to her position from the Labour Front Bench. Let us see.

[Kelly Tolhurst (Rochester and Strood) (Con)]

I thank the Home Secretary for his statement on the measures he will be taking to bring down the number, which is too big and unsustainable, particularly for communities in the south-east. Now that he is making the best of being able to change the policy to suit the needs of this country, will he consider an annual review to alter the requirements and rules to suit the needs of this country over time?

[James Cleverly]

My right hon. Friend makes exactly the right point. Our promise to the British people was to take back control of our immigration system and our borders, a policy that was, at the time and subsequently, opposed by the Labour party. Taking back control means making adjustments, addressing the needs of our economy and our society. The changes I am putting forward today are in response to our economic needs, as well as our social needs.