New Approach Expected On Annual Cap Of Immigration From Non- EU Countries

28 Oct 2010

A soft approach has been signaled by Prime Minister David Cameron with regards to Government’s plans for an annual cap on immigration from outside the European Union. He mentioned that the cap would be implemented in such a way that Britain would still bring in the talented from around the world.

These remarks were in result of increasing pressure from leading businesses and universities who argued that rigid rules in immigration would prevent them from recruiting the best glob talent and undermine their competitiveness. Also, fears were expressed with regards to relationships with emerging economic powers like India and China.

"Let me give you this assurance. As we control our borders and bring immigration to a manageable level, we will not impede you from attracting the best talent from around the world," he told a conference of the Confederation of British Industry.

In a rare intervention recently, eight British Nobel laureates said that an artificial cap would deprive Britain of international scientific talent and “isolate” it from the “increasingly globalised world of research”.

After Mr Cameron’s speech, Downing Street said details of how the planned cap would work would be announced in “due course’’.

"We all know business have been talking about this issue. That is precisely why we wanted to have this period of consultation – to get the policy right. We were always very clear that we would try to implement that cap in a way that does not impede businesses from attracting the best talent to the UK. The objective is to bring net immigration down to the levels seen in the past – so tens of thousands. But we have not said anything more detailed about precisely how this is going to operate. We will do so in due course," it said.