A suppressed government report – which suggests that migrants to the UK have less impact on the jobs market than some sources claim – may be published before the European Parliament elections on 22 May.
The Independent reports that David Cameron’s official spokesman has already said the report will be published “shortly” – and possibly before the European Parliamentary Elections on 22 May.
The government has introduced a range of measures in response to concerns raised in the media that migrants are taking jobs from British workers – and also pushing down wages by their willingness to work long hours for low pay.
If elected to govern in the 2015 General Election, the Labour Party has pledged to end the low-pay loophole which many migrants fall into when they come to the UK to work.
UK bosses – including former Marks and Spencer chairman Sir Stuart Rose, now chairman of Ocado – have called for more migrant workers to come to Britain because of their strong work ethic and willingness to accept jobs involving long hours and low pay.
BBC Newsnight claims that an official report suppressed by the government shows that migrants coming to the UK to work are having less of an impact on the UK jobs market than research for the government suggests.
Ministers had previously claimed that for every 100 migrants who arrived in the UK to work, 23 British nationals were displaced in the jobs market. The BBC alleges that the report shows that the figure is much lower than 23 in every 100, which is based on research by the Migration Advisory Committee.
The government decision to suppress the report coincided with the lifting of border restrictions on Bulgaria and Romania from 1 January this year. It was anticipated there would be an influx of workers – and those seeking work – into Britain as a result. However, the anticipated numbers of new migrants from Bulgaria and Romania failed to materialise.
To allay fears over jobs in Britain being taken by workers from Romania and Bulgaria – or migrants coming to the UK to claim welfare benefits – the government introduced measures to limit access to out-of-work benefits to new migrants. These included making new migrants wait for three months before claiming out-of-work benefits.
Newsnight reporters say that the study which has been suppressed was written by civil servants and has been approved by all government departments involved in immigration, including the Home Office.
Liberal Democrat MP Julian Huppert has said that the report should be published “as quickly as possible”.
Mr Huppert told Newsnight:
“We have to have the right figures so we can make the right decisions, so that we get the best people here to help our economy.”
The UK suffers from skills gaps and recently inventor Sir James Dyson called for the government to do more to encourage engineering students from overseas to remain in the UK after graduating – including handing out work visas at graduation ceremonies to make sure the UK retains the engineering talent which it attracts to its universities and colleges.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage has disputed the findings of the report, however, claiming that British workers have suffered from more competition in the jobs market and lower wages as a result of immigration.
Mr Farage told the BBC:
“We have had wage compression and it has meant lower wages for millions and millions of people.”
Duncan Lewis Immigration Solicitors
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For expert legal advice on immigration and asylum in the UK, contact Duncan Lewis solicitors on 020 7923 4020.