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Immigration: White Paper sets out post-Brexit rules for migrants Immigration: White Paper sets out post-Brexit rules for migrants
(about 2 hours later)
A skills-based immigration system will be introduced to "get control over our borders" when free movement with the EU ends, the home secretary is to say. Low-skilled workers from EU countries will no longer have the automatic right to work in the UK after Brexit, under proposed new immigration rules.
It will focus on people's "talent and expertise... rather than where they come from", Sajid Javid will say later. Home Secretary Sajid Javid said the plans - to be published later - will not include a "specific target" for reducing numbers coming into the UK.
The system - to be phased in from 2021 - would scrap the cap on high-skilled workers such as doctors and engineers. But they would bring net migration down to "sustainable levels", he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
There will be further consultation over extending the £30,000 minimum salary threshold to all skilled migrants. There was "no reason to think" the plans would harm the economy, he added.
Some members of cabinet were worried the set amount - which currently applies to non-EU skilled workers - would limit the ability of businesses and services to recruit enough staff. Asked repeatedly if the government was sticking to its manifesto commitment to bring annual net migration down to the tens of thousands, Mr Javid would only say "the objective is to bring net migration down to more sustainable levels".
The White Paper - a document setting out the government's plans for immigration - is being published on Wednesday morning. He said most people would agree the current level, 273,000, was "very high" and it should be cut to a level that "meets first our economic need but at the same time is not too high a burden on our communities or infrastructure".
The much-delayed draft plan leaves out the long-held aim to cut net migration to less than 100,000 a year. He said the new immigration system would be based around skills rather than where people came from and would be the "biggest shake-up in 40 years".
But the government has said it is still committed to that target. The much-delayed White Paper is expected to include:
Setting out the paper, which the government says will give it full control over immigration for the first time in decades, Mr Javid will say that it offers employers access to the skills they need. The White Paper is due to be published at 10:30 GMT, with Mr Javid describing it as "delivering on the clear instruction to get control over our borders and will bring in a new system that works in the interest of the British people.
"We are delivering on the clear instruction to get control over our borders and will bring in a new system that works in the interest of the British people," he will say.
"It will be a single, skills-based immigration system built around the talent and expertise people can bring, rather than where they come from - maximising the benefits of immigration and demonstrating the UK is open for business.""It will be a single, skills-based immigration system built around the talent and expertise people can bring, rather than where they come from - maximising the benefits of immigration and demonstrating the UK is open for business."
No cap on high-skilled workersNo cap on high-skilled workers
The White Paper will introduce a new visa route for skilled migrants, from Europe and beyond.The White Paper will introduce a new visa route for skilled migrants, from Europe and beyond.
It accepts a recommendation from the independent Migration Advisory Committee to scrap the current limit of 20,700 on workers classed as high-skilled coming to the UK using "Tier 2" visas.It accepts a recommendation from the independent Migration Advisory Committee to scrap the current limit of 20,700 on workers classed as high-skilled coming to the UK using "Tier 2" visas.
Tier 2 is the name for general work visas for people from outside the European Economic Area and Switzerland who have been offered a skilled job in the UK. Eligible professions include nurses and doctors.Tier 2 is the name for general work visas for people from outside the European Economic Area and Switzerland who have been offered a skilled job in the UK. Eligible professions include nurses and doctors.
The BBC's assistant political editor, Norman Smith, said it was understood there would be a consultation about the salary threshold of £30,000 amid widespread opposition to such a cap. There will be a consultation about the salary threshold of £30,000 amid opposition to such a cap from business and some cabinet members.
The £30,000 minimum earnings rule already applies to non-EU workers in most Tier 2 visa cases but could also apply to migrants from the EU.The £30,000 minimum earnings rule already applies to non-EU workers in most Tier 2 visa cases but could also apply to migrants from the EU.
Chancellor Philip Hammond warned that it could harm large areas of the economy. But Theresa May argued it was an example of how the government was honouring the referendum result, Nicholas Watt, BBC Newsnight's political editor said. Extending it to skilled migrants could affect the NHS's ability to recruit the staff it needs, the body representing NHS trusts has warned.
"It is clearly the prime minister who is driving this, because this for her is really personal," Mr Watt said. "She has taken to heart 'take back control'." NHS Providers deputy chief executive Saffron Cordery told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "We are deeply concerned about what is going to happen. High skills does not equal high pay.
"You have got starting salaries for nurses at £23,000 - also for paramedics, midwives. Junior doctors starting salaries at £27,000, healthcare assistants at £17,000, all coming in way below that £30,000 cap.
"It is not just health workers, it is social care as well. We have to remember where the skills lay. They lay in those staff under £30,000."
Mr Javid said: "We are not setting the exact threshold today. There will be a threshold."
He added: "We will consult further on whether it is £30,000 or thereabouts."
Valuable workforceValuable workforce
Lobby group the Confederation of British Industry has previously called for net migration targets to be scrapped amid fears that reducing low-skilled immigration could damage business.Lobby group the Confederation of British Industry has previously called for net migration targets to be scrapped amid fears that reducing low-skilled immigration could damage business.
"The UK risks having too few people to run the health service, pick food crops or deliver products to stores around the country," it warned in August."The UK risks having too few people to run the health service, pick food crops or deliver products to stores around the country," it warned in August.
On Tuesday, Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston told Newsnight that many of the "valuable workforce" in the NHS and social care did not meet a £30,000 salary threshold.
"A hospital isn't just about the clinical staff. It's about the porters, the people who work in the kitchen, the social care workforce, who are absolutely crucial to making sure the NHS functions properly," she said.
There would be additional costs to the NHS of applying new bureaucratic measures, she added.
The NHS has previously warned that immigration rules were hampering their ability to find workers after visas were refused.
Earlier this year, the government announced foreign medics would be excluded from the government's cap on Tier 2 high-skilled migrants, which is now to be scrapped completely.Earlier this year, the government announced foreign medics would be excluded from the government's cap on Tier 2 high-skilled migrants, which is now to be scrapped completely.
The cap on the number of Tier 2 visas for high-skilled workers has been in place since 2011. Until December 2017, it had only been exceeded once, in June 2015, but recently it has been hit for several months in a row.The cap on the number of Tier 2 visas for high-skilled workers has been in place since 2011. Until December 2017, it had only been exceeded once, in June 2015, but recently it has been hit for several months in a row.
NHS workers make up 40% of all Tier 2 places, the government said.NHS workers make up 40% of all Tier 2 places, the government said.
In February this year, NHS England said it had 35,000 nurse vacancies and nearly 10,000 doctor posts unfilled.In February this year, NHS England said it had 35,000 nurse vacancies and nearly 10,000 doctor posts unfilled.