News Daily: Immigration plan, processed meat and 'cashless' warning
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-46609645 Version 0 of 1. If you want to get this briefing by email, sign up here Skills-based system Immigration - specifically, whether to "take back control" of it from the EU - was a key issue in the referendum debate. Now, in a much-delayed white paper, the government is finally setting out how it plans to do that from 2021. A skills-based system will be introduced that will treat migrants equally, regardless of whether they're from inside the EU or outside. The cap on high-skilled workers such as doctors and engineers - currently set at 20,700 - will be scrapped. And remember the long-promised-but-never-reached target of cutting net migration to less than 100,000 a year? It's been left out, but the government says it is still committed to it. Wrangling over the paper continued until the 11th hour. Some ministers, including the chancellor, were worried that a proposed £30,000 minimum salary for migrant workers would harm the economy - leave farmers without crop pickers or care homes without staff, for example. But Theresa May argued it was an example of how the government was honouring the referendum result. In the end, though, a compromise figure was eventually reached. Speaking of the economy, five big business organisations have issued a joint statement warning there isn't enough time to prevent severe disruption in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Read more on the arguments over who the UK should let in after Brexit. Get news from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morning Processed meat Too much salt can raise blood pressure and increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. In 2014, Public Health England asked retailers, manufacturers, restaurants, cafes and pub chains to cut the amount in their products, but it appears they've done better with some than others. There's still too much salt in processed meats such as sausages and bacon, and in ready meals, PHE says. Breakfast cereals, baked beans and pizzas, though, did meet the voluntary targets. How much salt is too much? Read more. 'Keep cash' There's a warning this morning that the UK risks "sleepwalking" into becoming a cashless society with serious consequences for millions of people. Cash use has halved in the past 10 years, but the report says those in rural communities would struggle without it because alternative ways of paying are hampered by poor broadband or mobile connectivity. So too would some people with physical or mental health problems who find it hard to use digital services. Debt could also rise, the report adds, because budgeting is easier with cash. Sweden has experienced some of those very problems - read more. Could Greenland become China's Arctic base? By John Simpson, BBC World Affairs editor China is flexing its muscles. As the second richest economy in the world, its businessmen and politicians are involved just about everywhere in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Now, though, China is taking a big interest in a very different part of the world: the Arctic. It has started calling itself a "near-Arctic" power, even though Beijing is almost 3,000km (1,800 miles) from the Arctic Circle. It has bought or commissioned several ice-breakers - including nuclear-powered ones - to carve out new routes for its goods through the Arctic ice. Read the full article What the papers say Several papers pick up on news that more than 3,000 troops are on standby in case of a no-deal Brexit. The Daily Mail calls for an outbreak of common sense in Brussels and Westminster - otherwise Project Fear could soon become Project Here. The Times reports that a number of key Conservative policy pledges, including social care reforms, are to be shelved while no-deal preparations are intensified. The Daily Telegraph leads on a call from the former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab for businesses to be given tax breaks to help them weather a no-deal storm. Every front page also carries a picture of sacked Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho. "Waste of space" is the headline on the back page of the Sun, which says club executives were sick of him moaning about his £400m team. Simon Kuper, in the Financial Times, concludes that "the special one" has proven an ancient footballing rule that pioneers always get surpassed. Daily digest Grade inflation Universities told to take action Laughing gas Ban on sales "not working" 'Slums' row Hamilton says he "used wrong words" 'Trailblazer' Pioneering female director dies If you watch one thing today A special place for a new kind of family If you listen to one thing today Is the extreme right the new terror threat? If you read one thing today Do councils have to keep the buses running? 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