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Immigration (Work Permits)

I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement and welcome the Government’s attempts to simplify a complicated system. However, I remain gravely concerned that the new scheme will not address certain skills shortages in some areas—for example, chefs in south Asian restaurants. There are 10,000 south Asian restaurants in Britain, contributing £3.2 billion to the British economy, and there are 20,000 vacancies. The scheme will not address their problems. Today, the Home Secretary has also abolished the sector-based scheme for certain quotas. I welcome his commitment to EU labour markets, but the people coming to the UK under the EU enlargement process take employment in those areas for only a short period and then move on quickly, creating even longer periods for vacancies in the sector. Will my right hon. Friend give the House an assurance that there will be the longest possible transition time, that the scheme will be monitored carefully and that if there are any problems with it he will report them to the House immediately so that a new scheme can be instituted?