Contributions
2,215 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Net Migration FiguresWe have made a clear manifesto commitment to see numbers falling sustainably, and this week we are taking action that will have a material impact. As I have said a number of times…25 May 2023HANSARD Net Migration FiguresThe hon. Lady seems to be arguing for significantly higher levels of legal migration than those that we have today. Given that 235,000 work-related visas were issued last year,…25 May 2023HANSARD Net Migration FiguresThe hon. Lady is entirely wrong about that. The Illegal Migration Bill creates a fast and simple scheme whereby those who come here illegally, in small boats or otherwise, will…25 May 2023HANSARD Net Migration FiguresThe hon. Lady’s argument is not borne out by any available evidence. There is no material difference in unemployment and economic activity between Scotland and the rest of the…25 May 2023HANSARD Net Migration FiguresWe want a system that enables businesses to bring in foreign workers where there are sustained skills shortages, but we want British employers to focus, in the first instance, on…25 May 2023HANSARD Net Migration FiguresWe would not have the tools to tackle net migration had we taken the hon. Gentleman’s advice and remained within the European Union. It is only as a result of our new freedoms…25 May 2023HANSARD Net Migration FiguresI presume the hon. Lady will welcome the fact that the Government have met their target of 600,000 international students coming to the UK every year—as set by our international…25 May 2023HANSARD Net Migration FiguresI have been clear that we want to reduce the backlog, as part of our 10-point plan to tackle illegal migration. We have put in place a series of measures to reduce bureaucracy, to…25 May 2023HANSARD Net Migration FiguresI did not say that. The hon. Lady should check the record after this urgent question. I said that the Labour party’s approach, as I understand it, is to let more people in and to…25 May 2023HANSARD Net Migration FiguresI strongly agree. It is critical that we take action to bring down net migration. My hon. Friend represents a community where there is intense pressure on housing, and it is a…25 May 2023HANSARD Net Migration FiguresI do not agree with the hon. Lady. As I have already said in answer to other questions, there is a limit to the number of individuals who can come into any country, regardless of…25 May 2023HANSARD Net Migration FiguresAs I said in answer to earlier questions, we expect numbers to reduce. We are taking further steps this week, which we think will make a material difference. If we need to do…25 May 2023HANSARD Net Migration FiguresMy hon. Friend makes a number of important points. I think few Members of this House have argued more consistently than I have that we need to build more homes and that there…25 May 2023HANSARD Net Migration FiguresThe hon. Gentleman and his party have voted against every measure that the Government have brought forward to control migration, whether legal or illegal migration, so his…25 May 2023HANSARD Net Migration FiguresThe ONS has changed its methodology and increased the estimate it made in the middle of last year, to say that net migration was 606,000 at that point, when it previously…25 May 2023HANSARD Net Migration FiguresThe case I was making was that we sustainably increase productivity by encouraging our employers to invest in their workforce and in technology, rather than simply by reaching for…25 May 2023HANSARD Net Migration FiguresWe believe that the measures we announced yesterday with regard to student dependants will have a tangible effect on the number of student dependants coming into the country,…25 May 2023HANSARD Net Migration FiguresI am delighted to hear that the Government have just chalked up another vote for the Illegal Migration Bill, because Members cannot say they want open borders, with unlimited…25 May 2023HANSARD Net Migration FiguresMy right hon. Friend makes an important point, which he has made in the past and with which I have a lot of sympathy. We both believe that we need a controlled migration system…25 May 2023HANSARD Net Migration FiguresI was not expecting a question today arguing that net migration was too low—that seems to be the position of the SNP—but the hon. Gentleman makes a fair point; we need a pragmatic…25 May 2023