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Managed Migration

I am grateful to the Minister for that intervention. If he is prepared to send me that background detail, I should very much like to take him up on his generous offer. Much of the debate on this issue has been taken up by the specific example of catering workers, some of whom may not fulfil the criteria at any tier of the proposed arrangements. That area of the labour market is just one of many that is likely to be affected, and I hope the new system will have the flexibility and creativity needed to ensure that those sectors of our economy that rely on low-skilled labour are not unduly penalised by the policy. Although the plans are clear about Britain’s needs, as they should be, will the Minister explain what account will be taken of the needs of other countries? Our responsibilities go beyond merely protecting our own economy, and we should not be in the business of draining talent and skills from countries that can least afford to lose them. We are often told about the ethical dimension to Britain’s foreign policy, so I should be grateful for similar assurances that our economic migration policy will have a much firmer ethical foundation.