Karen Bradley
Main Page: Karen Bradley (Conservative - Staffordshire Moorlands)Department Debates - View all Karen Bradley's debates with the Home Office
(12 years, 7 months ago)
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Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)
4. What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the permanent cap on non-EU work migrants after its first year of operation.
Karen Bradley (Staffordshire Moorlands) (Con)
10. What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the permanent cap on non-EU work migrants after its first year of operation.
The Minister for Immigration (Damian Green)
The annual limit, together with other measures such as raising the minimum skills level, has ensured that we have kept the numbers of non-EU workers at sustainable levels while allowing employers to access the brightest and best migrants.
Damian Green
It is important that we create, as we are doing, a more selective immigration system designed to attract and reward migrants who can make the biggest contribution to our economy. By raising the minimum skills threshold and the English-language requirements, we have ensured that only migrants who are highly skilled or who have skills that are in short supply can come to the UK to work and settle.
Karen Bradley
Of course, immigration is not just about those coming but about those leaving the country.
Karen Bradley
I apologise; I meant migration. Will the Minister tell the House what the Government are doing to break the link between coming here temporarily and settling here permanently?
Damian Green
One of the many failures of the previous Government was that they made settlement an automatic consequence of five years’ residence in the UK. Settlement in the UK is a privilege, not a right, and unrestricted settlement rights are not in the UK’s best interests. The changes we implemented in April will mean that, from April 2016, those wishing to settle here will have to earn a minimum salary of £35,000 or the appropriate rate for the job, whichever is higher. That is better for the long-term health of our immigration system.
Mrs May
The hon. Lady raises a very important issue in relation to the terrible situation that we have seen in Rochdale, but, as she and others have said, sadly we see too many such cases throughout the country of grooming and sexually exploiting girls. We have already had a report from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre on the issue, and we will look at it again and at how it is dealt with across the country. We have made sure that in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 there is a specific duty on police forces and on police and crime commissioners in relation to the care of children.
Karen Bradley (Staffordshire Moorlands) (Con)
T8. Will the Minister join me in congratulating Staffordshire police and, in particular, Chief Constable Mike Cunningham on meeting the requirements of the budget reductions in the spending review while maintaining visible front-line policing?
Nick Herbert
I will happily join my hon. Friend in congratulating Staffordshire police on that achievement. They, like many other forces, have seen an overall fall in crime—in their case, of 7%—despite having to make savings, and the chief constable has made a particular commitment to protect neighbourhood policing.