Immigration
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the level of net migration in the last five years.
Answered by Seema Malhotra
Under the previous government, between 2019 and 2023, net migration more than quadrupled, heavily driven by a big increase in overseas recruitment.
This Government is clear that net migration must come down and is committed to tackling skills shortages and labour market failures here in the UK.
We have already set out a new approach to end the over reliance on international recruitment and boost economic growth to link the UK’s immigration, labour market, and skills systems to train up our homegrown workforce
We have also commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee to review key sectors, and our long-term plan will see departments working across government, alongside other agencies and experts, to build our skills base and reduce our reliance on migration.
Furthermore, following the Prime Minister’s speech on migration on 28th November 2024 - the Government will publish a White Paper later this year setting out measures to reduce net migration and link the points-based system with requirements for training in the UK.
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