- Jun 24, 2013
- 3,400
- 2,345
The shortages list - there is nothing on there covering the building trade, and yet all builders will tell you there is a chronic shortage of trained people in the building trades and that this is one reason why (a) we don't build enough houses and (b) we have a lot of EU migrant builders.
There are approx 50,000 migrant workers in the NHS at the moment.
Of course, if it is annual migration figures we are reducing, then none of these would appear in the figures as they are already here. Presumably.
Do we include seasonal labour on farms etc? Or do we expect hordes of mythical UK workers to do the fruit and veg picking?
On the one hand we praise the low unemployment figures, while on the other hand we say all the jobs are being taken by migrants. The unemployed do not necessarily relate directly to the vacancies - an aging ex-steelworker in South Wales can hardly take a job as a dentist in London. Extreme example, I know.
Do we include overseas students in the numbers? The Conservatives say we should. So that's a few tens of thousand already. Or do we not let them come to study here? If so, how do universities recoup the substantial lost income? Not to mention language schools - down here in the EFL capital of the UK there are 50,000 language students per year at all the EFL schools. Admittedly many for periods of less than three months, but quite a large number are here for a year to get the qualification they seek.
And one final point to throw in the mix - currently there is an evidenced net contribution to the national kitty from all migrants (including benefits in the calculations where they apply). If we reduce the numbers, we reduce the tax income. Where do we recover that income from. One independent study reported today that a 50% reduction in current numbers (so still nearly 150,000) would create a 5bn hole in government finances by 2020.
It is ridiculously complex, and anyone who says "we will reduce it to under 100,000" is I fear pandering to popular opinion rather than looking at the cold facts.
There are approx 50,000 migrant workers in the NHS at the moment.
Of course, if it is annual migration figures we are reducing, then none of these would appear in the figures as they are already here. Presumably.
Do we include seasonal labour on farms etc? Or do we expect hordes of mythical UK workers to do the fruit and veg picking?
On the one hand we praise the low unemployment figures, while on the other hand we say all the jobs are being taken by migrants. The unemployed do not necessarily relate directly to the vacancies - an aging ex-steelworker in South Wales can hardly take a job as a dentist in London. Extreme example, I know.
Do we include overseas students in the numbers? The Conservatives say we should. So that's a few tens of thousand already. Or do we not let them come to study here? If so, how do universities recoup the substantial lost income? Not to mention language schools - down here in the EFL capital of the UK there are 50,000 language students per year at all the EFL schools. Admittedly many for periods of less than three months, but quite a large number are here for a year to get the qualification they seek.
And one final point to throw in the mix - currently there is an evidenced net contribution to the national kitty from all migrants (including benefits in the calculations where they apply). If we reduce the numbers, we reduce the tax income. Where do we recover that income from. One independent study reported today that a 50% reduction in current numbers (so still nearly 150,000) would create a 5bn hole in government finances by 2020.
It is ridiculously complex, and anyone who says "we will reduce it to under 100,000" is I fear pandering to popular opinion rather than looking at the cold facts.