Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick has outlined a series of suggestions aimed at curbing immigration into the UK, a set of ideas that are presently under internal discussion within the
government and not yet formal policy.
One of the primary proposals includes enforcing a minimum annual salary of £35,000 for individuals seeking work visas. This initiative comes following recent figures revealing a record net migration of 745,000 individuals, leading to calls from Conservative MPs for more robust measures to control immigration.
While No 10 has acknowledged the figures as "far too high" and initiated steps to decrease them, such as tightening regulations around dependents of arriving students, Jenrick believes more drastic policy shifts might be necessary to eventually lower these figures.
His suggestions encompass halting the entry of dependents for those working in health and social care, potentially capping visas for social care workers - a move that might encounter opposition from the Department of Health, considering the ongoing shortages in the NHS and social care sectors.
Jenrick also proposed abolishing the Shortage Occupation List, which identifies roles employers struggle to fill, a recommendation previously put forth by the Migration Advisory Committee.
There's mounting pressure within the Conservative party, with former Home Secretary Suella Braverman criticizing the government's handling of immigration. She called for an annual cap on net migration and raised the salary threshold outside health and social care to £45,000.
However, Braverman's departure has left Jenrick to reevaluate and streamline the proposals he hopes Prime Minister Rishi Sunak might consider. Downing Street has yet to comment on these suggested measures.
The issue of migration has also been a focal point for other Tory MPs, with some labeling it a crucial concern for the party. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has described the current net migration figures as "shockingly high," emphasizing that it reflects a broader failure in immigration, asylum, and the economy.
Preliminary figures up to June indicate a potential slowdown in the rate of net migration, with a significant majority arriving from non-European Union countries, primarily students. Photo by Chris McAndrew, Wikimedia commons.