A selection of recent media reports
Forced marriage should be criminalised, say MPs Forced marriage should be made a criminal offence to show that it was not tolerated in society, MPs said. BBC News - UK Politics (17-May-2011)
Immigration Woes 'Must Prompt ID Card Review' The Government will need to revisit the issue of ID cards in order to control immigration, the chairwoman of an MPs commi Sky News (17-May-2011)
BRITS MISSING OUT OVER VISA LOOPHOLE IMMIGRANTS are squeezing tens of thousands of Brits out of top jobs. Daily Star (17-May-2011)
Border Agency rapped over controls The UK Border Agency (UKBA) lacks the information needed to manage immigration effectively, a report has warned. A lack of Guardian.co.uk (17-May-2011)
MPs publish report on the Immigration Points Based System The Committee of Public Accounts has published a report which, on the basis of evidence from the Home O UK Parliament (17-May-2011)
CHAOS AS 181,000 MIGRANTS VANISH AFTER VISAS RUN OUT BORDER officials are slammed by MPs today in a scathing report which reveals they have lost track of 181,000 mi Daily Express (17-May-2011)
UK border agency 'no grip' on people with expired visas Report from MPs says agency has not done enough to ensure those with visas which expired in December 200 Guardian.co.uk (17-May-2011)
Where are they? 181,000 with expired visas are still in Britain Around 181,000 migrants are thought to be living in Britain unlawfully after their visas expired, Mail Online (17-May-2011)
Border Agency has 'lack of control', say MPs The UK Border Agency has a "lack of control" over the system used by multinational companies to bring their own foreign st BBC News UK (16-May-2011)
Illegal immigrants granted permanent residence by staying hidden Thousands of illegal immigrants have been granted squatters rights to stay in the UK permanently รข€“ simply because they have managed to stay hidden for 14 years. Daily Telegraph (16-May-2011)
Four charged over suspected Slough sham marriage Four people are due before magistrates after being charged by immigration officers over a suspected sh BBC News England (16-May-2011)
Twitter - Migrationwatch Parliament shows under a Labour concession the number of illegal immigrants granted full access to the Welfare State. Twitter - Migrationwatch (16-May-2011)
Migrants get 'squatters' rights' to stay in UK if they've stayed 14 years Thousands of immigrants have been granted 'squatters' rights' to stay in the UK - after l Mail Online (16-May-2011)
Comments
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Report into the Points Based System (PBS) 17 May, 2011
The PAC concludes that the PBS is better than its predecessor. Yet, six of its seven recommendations suggest that, to the contrary, it is lacking in control. The reason Labour's PBS is so deeply flawed is that the basis of the UK's immigration control, the face to face interview, no longer plays any part in the process. The PBS is mainly a box ticking exercise that places the initiative with those who have a financial interest in a visa being granted. No wonder firms prefer it.
Press Releases
Thousands of illegal immigrants are granted settlement every year 16 May, 2011
Figures just released in a Parliamentary answer[1] show that, under a concession introduced by Labour in 2003, nearly 9,000 illegal immigrants have been granted permanent residence in Britain with full access to the Welfare State. Another 22,600 attained permanent residence after 10 years legal residence in Britain.
The figures show that the numbers granted residence have climbed significantly in the last three years. They may well climb further when Labour’s immigration boom has its full effect.
Commenting, Sir Andrew Green, chairman of Migrationwatch UK said “These numbers will need careful watching. The government are now requiring students to show progression before they can extend their visas but there will be a backlog of “professional students” who will still be able to claim permanent settlement. The concession for illegal immigrants should be reviewed. It amounts to a slow motion amnesty. There is no reason why illegal residence in Britain, however long, should qualify someone to the full benefits of the Welfare State.”
Note to Editors:
1 Parliamentary Answer Number 54384, Column 1110W of 10th May 2011
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were granted leave to remain after (a) 10 years legal residence and (b) 14 years illegal residence in the UK in each year between 1997 and 2010. [54384]
Damian Green: The following table shows the number of people granted leave to remain after making a long residency application for (a) 10 year legal residence and (b) 14 years illegal residence in the UK covering the period 1April 2003 to the 31 December 2010. The figures are separated by the year in which a decision was made.
The provision to grant indefinite leave to remain (ILR) on the basis of 14 year long term residence, along with that of 10 year long term residence, was introduced into the immigration rules in April 2003. Therefore we are unable to provide data prior to this date.
Number of individuals granted leave to remain | |||
| (a) 10 year legal residence | (b) 14 year illegal residence | Total |
2003 (from April) | 2,043 | 952 | 2,995 |
2004 | 2,260 | 781 | 3,041 |
2005 | 2,581 | 730 | 3,311 |
2006 | 3,391 | 799 | 4,190 |
2007 | 2,411 | 949 | 3,360 |
2008 | 2,148 | 902 | 3,050 |
2009 | 3,042 | 2,061 | 5,103 |
2010 | 4,759 | 1,774 | 6,533 |
| 22,635 | 8,948 | 31,583 |
Note: All figures quoted are internal management information only and are subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols. | |||
Seven out of Ten Lib Dem Voters Want Net Immigration sharply cut: New poll shows strong support for Cameron’s target 10 May, 2011
A new YouGov poll has found that 72% of potential Liberal Democrat voters want net immigration of 100,000 or less per year. A majority (55%) of Lib Dem supporters wanted to see a much lower figure of 50,000 or less. Only 8% wanted the present level of 200,000 a year or more.
Results for Labour voters were almost identical. 74% of potential Labour voters favour net immigration of 100,000 or less a year and a majority (64%) want 50,000 or less; only 7% wanted 200,000 or more.
Conservative voters were 92% in favour of 100,000 or less while only 2% wanted 200,000 or more.
Taking the public as a whole, 79% favoured 100,000 or less while 5% wanted 200,000 or more. This underlines the strength of support right across the political spectrum for David Cameron’s aim to cut net migration to the “tens of thousands” during the course of the Parliament.
The poll also found strong support among potential Liberal Democrat voters for the Government’s measures to limit the number of economic migrants to Britain. 76% supported a limit while 18% opposed it, of those 4% strongly opposed. Labour voters took the same view while 96% of Conservatives supported a limit to economic migration, with only 3% opposing.
Replicate questions were posed in a YouGov survey last November and showed a very similar pattern in response to both questions. This suggests that people have not been influenced by recent criticism of the government policy.
Commenting, Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of Migration Watch UK said "It is now absolutely clear that potential Lib Dem voters overwhelmingly support the Conservative policy of reducing net immigration to 100,000 or less. Who do Lib Dem leaders think they are speaking for when they oppose this policy?"
Notes to editors All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,530 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 8th - 9th May 2011. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
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