European Union (Withdrawal) Act
Debate between Sajid Javid and Matt Western(5 years, 4 months ago)
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Sajid Javid
The hon. Lady is absolutely right to talk about the benefits to our public services of immigration, such as doctors and nurses in the health service. That was partly recognised in the change I made last year to remove nurses and doctors from the tier 2 cap. The new immigration system set out in the White Paper, which refers specifically to benefits for the public sector, is perfectly compatible with the needs of the public sector.
The White Paper sets out proposals for a secure and streamlined border. EU visitors will be able to come to the UK without a visa and will continue to be able to use e-gates. In keeping with our position that the EU should not automatically receive preferential treatment, we announced at the end of last year that the use of e-gates would be extended later this year to nationals of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the United States. That is evidence that the UK is open for business and committed to ensuring the swiftest possible entry for visitors.
In line with the advice of the Migration Advisory Committee, our future immigration system will contain a route for skilled workers. We will expand the definition of skilled workers to encompass those in mid-skilled occupations. The route will be uncapped, and we are removing the resident labour market test for highly skilled workers. The Migration Advisory Committee argued that it burdened businesses with unnecessary bureaucracy and was ineffective. Both those changes will greatly assist businesses and speed up processes.
We will retain the protections that exist for British workers, such as the skills charge. For intermediate-skilled jobs, we will engage with employers and businesses to consider whether a form of the resident labour market test would still be appropriate.
Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)
I thank the Secretary of State for giving way; he is being very generous with his time. How does he envisage his approach working with someone like Steve Jobs’s dad, who came from Syria? How would such people come into this country and contribute to the prosperity and wealth of this nation?
Sajid Javid
If the hon. Gentleman bears with me, I think he will see as I progress with my remarks what routes of entry we have for those who bring talent and skills to our country.
The Migration Advisory Committee has recommended that the salary threshold for the skilled worker route be £30,000. There has, of course, been a lively debate on that point already. We will run a 12-month process of engagement with business, employers, universities and others. Only at the conclusion of that work will we determine the level at which the threshold should be set. In any case, we will retain the shortage occupation list, which allows for a lower threshold in jobs such as nursing where there are shortages.
There will also be a new route for workers at any skill level, but it will be for only a temporary period. That will allow businesses to have the staff they need as we move to the new immigration system. It also gives them a clear incentive to invest more in training young British people now. Access to low-skilled labour from abroad should never be a substitute for investment in the skills of British people. Our new system will ensure that it is not.
Members have pointed out that agriculture has a particular reliance on migrant labour. I have listened carefully to those concerns and we will pilot a seasonal agricultural workers scheme in the spring. That announcement has already been well received.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Sajid Javid and Matt Western(6 years, 2 months ago)
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Sajid Javid
I can give my hon. Friend the assurance for which she has asked. First, we have commissioned independent work from my right hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Sir Oliver Letwin) on speeding up building once planning permission has been granted. We shall hear more about that this week. Secondly, the consultation that was published earlier this week focuses on developer contributions in particular, and the need to ensure that developers stick to their word and can no longer game the system.
Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Sajid Javid and Matt Western(6 years, 3 months ago)
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Sajid Javid
The hon. Lady will know that the report was an interim report, with the final report due in the spring. There were some interim recommendations that we could act on immediately, and we have accepted all of them. For example, a recommendation about restricting how and when desktop studies can be used is being implemented right now. The hon. Lady might be interested to know that a convention involving industry experts, stakeholders and Dame Judith Hackitt is going on as we speak, just down the road from Parliament—I attended this morning—to look at what more can be done in the interim.
Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)
Grenfell Tower
Debate between Sajid Javid and Matt Western(6 years, 7 months ago)
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Sajid Javid
Yes, I am happy to give my hon. Friend that reassurance. From day one, when we put the building safety programme in place, the number of people in my Department—the specialists—dealing with this has increased dramatically. One reason that has been necessary is that every building that has been identified—where, first, there had to be testing, and this was followed by the results of the testing, the interim measures and the remedial measures—has been allocated to an individual in my Department. So an individual has been following how the local authority, housing association or private sector operator has handled the testing and their response to the results of that testing. That has been necessary to make sure that all the necessary work takes place, and we will continue to do it for as long as is necessary.
Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)
I welcome the announcement of the social housing review, but will the Secretary of State please reconsider, as part of that review, my request of some weeks ago for an audit of all social housing? That would enable us to understand things such as the extent of concrete cancer and the percentage of homes with sprinklers, and therefore to best understand the scale of the problem and the investment that is needed, to which the hon. Member for Cleethorpes (Martin Vickers) perhaps alluded. That would be most welcome.
Grenfell Tower and Building Safety
Debate between Sajid Javid and Matt Western(6 years, 8 months ago)
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Sajid Javid
I can tell the hon. Lady that I am aware of 16 public buildings that have failed the test so far, and other public buildings may come in for further testing. This talks to a wider problems, however, because we are seeing a huge rate of failure, as I have said, across the board in both the public and private sectors and in residential and commercial buildings.
Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)
Twelve weeks ago, when I heard the Prime Minister try to encourage local authorities to get in touch and to put forward samples for testing, I put it to her that encouragement was not the right route to take and that we should be mandating, but it still seems that we are inviting local authorities or housing associations to submit material. The public inquiry will inform us of its findings, but I am concerned by the significant under-investment in our council properties and social housing stock, which I can speak about from experience in my constituency. I therefore suggest to the right hon. Gentleman that the right course of action would be to undertake a full independent audit of all aspects of safety in the 4,000 blocks, hospitals, student residences and other buildings, because just one item is being considered. Surely that is the least that we owe to the families.
Sajid Javid
The process of testing the buildings that have been similarly clad is not voluntary. It has not been voluntary for the public sector; it has been a requirement of all local authorities and housing associations. Clearly, not one has refused, so there is nothing voluntary about it. It is important that we keep looking at how to continue the process, in particular to capture much more of the private sector, and I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will welcome that.
Grenfell Tower Fire/Fire Safety
Debate between Sajid Javid and Matt Western
Sajid Javid
Following the Prime Minister’s statement, I sent a letter to every Member of Parliament and every Member of the other place on Friday; it has gone out. I believe I have answered the question on funding.
Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)
In the wake of the awful disaster at Fukushima, the German Government shut down all their nuclear plants, fearing that a catastrophe such as that could happen on their soil. Surely after an event like the Grenfell Tower tragedy, we should be looking to put sprinkler systems in all our tower blocks.