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Immigration (Work Permits)

I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s best wishes, and I congratulate him on abandoning ““Fantasy Island”” policies, including withdrawal from the United Nations refugee convention and the absolute ceiling on numbers, both of which were authored by his right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr. Cameron) in the Conservative manifesto at the last election. As for the points made by the hon. Gentleman, the cost will be subject to a tendering process, which is exactly the right way for any Government to proceed. As for whether the measure will increase or reduce the number of people, it is important to acknowledge—I think that the hon. Gentleman does so in his article in The Observer—that migration to work and migration to study are important to our economy and society, so we should welcome and encourage them. Illegal migration, however, is not acceptable, which is why the system is in place. On the proposal that employers should be required to recruit from the domestic work force first, our straightforward position is that we encourage people to work, both from this country and from the European Union. If people come from outside that area to work they should do so on the basis of this country’s national priorities. It is therefore right to set skills as the top issue. It is because skills are absent in this country that we need to say that we should draw in people with the skills to fill the gaps. That is why the skills advisory board plays an important role. It does not decide what happens in tiers 2 and 3 but, none the less, it is an important advisory board.