Level of an Annual Limit on Economic Migration to the UK

Date: 26^th August 2010
Time: 11am – 1pm
Venue:  East Midlands Councils, Phoenix House, Nottingham Road, Melton Mowbray, LE13 0UL

On 20 May 2010 the Coalition Government said “We will introduce an annual limit on the number of non-EU economic migrants admitted into the UK to live and work. We will consider jointly the mechanism for implementing the limit.”

On 28 June the Government launched a consultation on how an annual limit for Tiers 1 (highly skilled migrants) and 2 (skilled migrants) of the Points Based System for migration from outside the EEA will work in practice, and the mechanism through which it should be achieved.

At the same time the Government commissioned the MAC to consult and provide advice on the level at which the first annual limit should be set (2011/12). In doing so the Government asked the Committee to:

• take into account their overall objective of reducing net migration to the tens of thousands by the end of the Parliament;
• balance economic, social and public service impacts of migration; and
• report by the end of September.

The MAC issued a consultation on 30 June which can be accessed here:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/workingwithus/mac/mac-consultation-annual-limit/

The deadline for the consultation is 7 September 2010.

As you may know the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) are currently consulting on the level that the first year limit on non-EEA immigrants coming to the UK for work should be set at. In doing so the Committee have been asked to take into account economic, public service and social impacts. We would very much like to come to the East Midlands and talk through our consultation with relevant representatives and hear some initial reactions.

Our interests are quite broad around economic, public service and social impacts and are not limited to, but include the following:

Education

• What role do migrants (particularly Tier 1 and Tier 2 migrants and their dependants) play in consuming and providing these services? To what extent can you measure and balance these impacts?
• Do corporate partners have any information on T1/T2 migrants (+ dependants) being employed in the education sector? It would be particularly helpful to get this information from several regions to enable us to bring out any regional variation in this impact in our report.
• How much do local authorities have to spend to accommodate EAL students in their classrooms? What effect, if any, is this having on the education of other students? (we appreciate some EAL students will not be migrants and some migrants will not be EAL students).

Healthcare and social services

• What role do migrants (particularly Tier 1 and Tier 2 migrants and their dependants) play in consuming and providing these services? To what extent can you measure and balance these impacts?
• Again, can partners provide us with evidence (at regional level if possible) of T1/T2 migrants and dependants being employed in the health and social service sectors and their importance to these sectors?
• Do employers offer private healthcare to migrants (and their families) as part of their overall benefits package?
• Can health workers comment on whether non-EEA migrants (pref. T1/T2 + dependants) have particular medical needs (illnesses (hereditary or otherwise) or increased likelihood to abuse alcohol/drugs/etc that could place increased burden on health services?)

Housing

• On housing we are interested in the extent to which migrants deny current residents access to social housing, and the impact of migration in influencing housing availability, rent levels, and house prices.

Crime

• On crime, we want to know the extent to which migrants commit crime (relative to the resident population), and what types of crime, and how much police and prison resource they “consume” as criminals.

Social cohesion

Not an easy area to consult on but we would be interested to hear views on:

• Are there any regional public opinion polls on migration that we could use?
• Can employers comment on the rate of change of the proportion of their workforce that are migrants? Do migrants integrate well into the workforce/local community? Have there been any tensions/disputes among employees?

Economic

• Other than the areas mentioned above are there other economic impacts that should be taken into account (e.g. harder to recruit non-EU workers into hard to fill jobs such as chefs, engineering etc…).

In a nutshell, in recommending a first annual limit for non-EU immigration, we need to understand what impact this may have on your region.

Please indicate your attendance at this event by emailing kirsty.lowe@emcouncils.gov.uk

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards

Kirsty

Kirsty Lowe
Learning & Development Adviser
East Midlands Councils

Tel. 01664 502 637 Fax. 01664 502659

Please note the new email address, which is now kirsty.[email protected].

The East Midlands Councils is the consultative forum for all 46 authorities in the region. It provides support to Councils to improve their services and is a strong voice for the East Midlands.