Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Spencer Excerpts

Monday 1st November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mark Spencer (Sherwood) (Con)]

2. What recent progress she has made on reform of the immigration system.

[Mr David Evennett (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Con)]

10. What recent progress she has made on reform of the immigration system.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister for Immigration (Damian Green)]

In just six months, the coalition Government have made significant progress in the reform of the immigration system. We have introduced an interim limit on non-EU economic migrants and consulted on proposals for the annual limit. We are also reviewing student and family routes. We have made significant progress towards ending the detention of children and we have also begun exploring improvements to the asylum system.

[Mr Spencer]

The Minister will be aware that companies such as Rolls-Royce, in my constituency, require highly skilled staff from outside the EU. What can be done to ensure that those companies have access to those highly skilled staff while also ensuring that the immigrants coming in have the right skills?

[Damian Green]

My hon. Friend makes an extremely good point, because this is what we are seeking to achieve under our annual limit: we want to ensure not only that the skills that may not be available at the moment in this country are made available, but that jobs are also available for British workers. I commend to him the research published by the Home Office last week showing that 29% of those who came in under the tier 1 route—the route meant for the most highly skilled: the people who are so highly skilled that they do not even need a job offer—were employed in low-skilled roles. That tells me that the points-based system has not been working as well as it should have been.