At least its a start, albeit rather late.
Immigrants should not be able to take a skilled jobin the UK unless it has been advertised to British workers, the homesecretary has said.
The government had to make sure policy on overseas workers was”responding to the current economic circumstances”, Jacqui Smith toldthe BBC.
She has also ordered an investigation into the impact of the arrival of families of immigrant workers.
The number of non-UK-born workers in Britain reached 3.8 million last year.
Workers from non-EU countries are categorised by apoints-based system that decides whether they can find work in the UK,while there are no restrictions on EU citizens.
Ms Smith told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show: “Given the currenteconomic situation, it is right for us now to look at that points-basedsystem and to make sure that it is responding to the current economiccircumstances.
[…]
Conservative home affairs spokesman Damian Green accused Ms Smith of tinkering at the edges of the problem.
“Jacqui Smith is clearly worried that people feel nervous about thelevels of immigration we have seen under this government,” he said.
“She’s right to be nervous but what she’s doing isn’t anythinglike enough to meet the challenge. What is needed is an explicit annuallimit on the number of people coming here.
“That that would give people confidence in the system, we’d getthe right numbers of people here as well as the right talents that weneed in this country.”
The Home Office estimates its move will mean 12,000 fewer immigrants each year.