Oral answer to question provided on Monday, 25 February 2008 in the House of Commons, by Liam Byrne (Labour), Home Office.

Inward Migration

Answer: I respect the passion with which the hon. Gentleman presents his argument, and I know that he recently held a debate in the House—I think it was last week—on the impact on public services that he sees locally. However, when I look at the proposals for caps on migration, I find it difficult to see how they would capture, touch or affect more than one in five of the newcomers who entered the UK in 2006. I believe that the points system will capture at least three in five, and I therefore think it is the right way forward for carefully controlling migration to the United Kingdom.

This is an answer to the Oral question asked on Monday, 25 February 2008 by Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative).

Question: My constituency has borne, and continues to bear, the brunt of the shambles that this Government call an immigration policy. Does the Minister think that my constituents will be reassured by a policy involving a belated points-based system but no upper limit on the number of people allowed to come to the United Kingdom?

Secondary information