Britons living in Bulgaria. Guide to Bulgaria, Sofia and Varna

House of Commons Hansard Debates for 06 Nov 2007 (pt 0019)


A points system will soon come into place. A single border force will soon deliver tougher policing at ports and airports. All I ask is that we let the process begin.9.54 pmThe Minister for Borders and Immigration (Mr. Alongside that, we have also set up the migration impact forum, to bring together public service leaders in this country to advise us on where the wider impacts and pressures of migration are being felt.My right hon. An intelligent debate about the balance is needed, and we need to have that debate in a grown-up way. Another decision on that issue will be taken, I understand, at the end of next year. Any talk of British work for British people will serve only to worsen the situation.There is also, in dealing with the issue of the Romanians’ and Bulgarians’ restrictions, the issue of the number of British citizens who are working abroad. Applicants deserve an answer, and if they have no right to stay in the United Kingdom they need to be removed quickly. As he says, that really is to be commended.Wider changes are falling into place in the immigration system over the next 12 months; indeed, they are the biggest changes that we have ever seen to that system in a single year. As I have not had the chance to do so on the Floor of the House, may I also congratulate him on his chairmanship of the Home Affairs Committee, which is already shaping up quite an interesting agenda on the migration front for the months ahead? Back then, much of this debate was conducted in the language of race. Byrne: I will address that point in a moment or two, because it is important and I want to respond to it.The wider debate about immigration needs to be led in a new way. Cabinet Ministers talked about the “colour problem” before legislation on this issue was passed in 1962. Deputy Speaker (Sir Alan Haselhurst): Order. Does the Minister feel that the Prime Minister’s use of the phrase “British jobs for British people” makes a mature and constructive contribution to the debate?Mr. Every position that is filled will require justification and an account kept of how many British jobs there are. Foreign investment in Romania is at an all-time high, as is employment, with only 2 per cent. Friend has consistently championed the case for Bulgaria and Romania, and he has invested considerable time in understanding this question in Bulgaria and Romania as well as here. Friend has had the chance to read this morning’s edition of The Birmingham Post. Friend in congratulating The Birmingham Post on its excellent front-page editorial. Friend in paying tribute to the work of our ambassadors in Bulgaria and Romania, and of the diplomatic representatives of Bulgaria and Romania in this country.I should reaffirm that the UK is committed to the principles of the single market. Friend is as ambitious as I am for those changes to succeed, but I am ambitious for something broader still: the debate about immigration that we have in this country needs to be based not on anecdote but on evidence. Friend might have added that all the evidence points to migrants from the accession countries being young. Friend the Foreign Secretary, I visited Bucharest to assess for myself the impact that restrictions were having on workers from Romania and Bulgaria. Friend the Member for Airdrie and Shotts (John Reid) commented—“not fit for purpose”.I have constituents who have been waiting for up to four years for a response to their applications. Friend the Member for Leicester, East (Keith Vaz) on securing this important debate. Friend was correct to underline how right it was for the Conservative candidate in Halesowen to resign. Friend’s comments, and a concern about the way in which values are protected, preserved and enhanced, rather than diminished, in immigration policy. Friend, I should say that he is absolutely right to point to the wider debate about immigration that we are having, and need to have, in this country. Graham Stuart (Beverley and Holderness) (Con): I am grateful to the Minister for giving way, and I congratulate the right hon. He is an excellent European, and I am sure that he will not mind my saying that he is an idealist without illusions. He is right to say that the report showed that about £6 billion was added to our economy in 2006. I also had the opportunity to meet the Romanian Prime Minister, Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, and other Ministers. I am glad that the Home Office report was of use to my right hon. I am reluctant to intervene on the right hon. I am still shocked at the way in which we reversed our position on the highly skilled migrant workers programme. I am very grateful for the advice tendered to us by both Governments as we put together the evidence base on which the Cabinet made its decision earlier this year.Before I respond to some of the detailed points made by my right hon. I believe that the fear of immigration that we experience is a result of faults in the system, faults that, in my view, can be resolved.Last week the Department for Work and Pensions apologised for erroneous immigration figures. I believe that there are signs that a new consensus is emerging. I must add that I myself have waited for four months to meet the Minister to discuss individual cases. I think he was at the Helsinki summit when the then Prime Minister made his promise to push for the accession of Bulgaria and Romania. I very much look forward to appearing before him on 27 November, when we will discuss this issue in a little more detail.My right hon. I welcome the announcement that that issue will be kept under constant review through various methods, including the migration impacts forum, of which my hon. If someone has another citizenship but they have indefinite leave to remain in the UK, they have a right to work.Hopes are falsely raised whenever “British jobs” are mentioned. If the Government’s statistics are wrong, how can their policies be right? If they are equal members of the EU, they should be full members, and not treated as second-class citizens. In 2006 EUROSTAT estimated that around 800,000 British citizens were working in the EU, outside the UK, some in Romania and Bulgaria. In London we have more than 300 different nationalities living side by side. Indeed, A8 migrant workers are overwhelmingly concentrated between the ages of 18 and 34, and only 4 per cent. It also raises the question: how do we ensure that jobs are going to British people and what do we classify as British? It assumes that foreign workers are somehow stealing jobs from United Kingdom workers, an idea for which there is absolutely no evidence. It being Ten o’clock, the motion for the Adjournment of the House lapsed, without Question put. It found that the current immigration process had had a negative effect on the way in which some public services operate, to varying extents. It is a vitally important context for this decision, and the tone of respect and mutual obligation in which he composed his remarks is precisely the one that we should hear in this debate. It is entirely wrong that such a serious mistake was made in an area that is so emotive and sensitive.That error has understandably had an effect on the public’s confidence in the way in which immigration is dealt with in this country. It is interesting to reflect over the past 30 or 40 years of this 6 Nov 2007 : Column 126debate, and to look at some of the things that are different and others that have stayed the same. It is shocking that, in this day and age, it is acceptable in some quarters to criticise someone on the basis of the country they came from. It is something that we can be proud of and celebrate.Against that current backdrop and the fear about immigration, it came as no surprise to me that the Cabinet made its decision to retain the restrictions on 6 Nov 2007 : Column 125Romania and Bulgaria. It is therefore regrettable that, every now and again, we hear throwbacks to that unfortunate side of the debate 30 or 40 years ago. It is vastly under-resourced, understaffed, and—as the former Home Secretary, my right hon. It lacks credible arguments, and some have suggested that it appears to amount to little more than employment apartheid. It ran an excellent front-page leader in which it makes the point that Mr. It will seem logical that the Romanian Government will welcome the UK restrictions, as they will encourage Romania’s citizens to stay at home.For the Romanians, however, the matter is one of principle. Liam Byrne): I congratulate my right hon. London’s diversity has made it the cultural and financial capital of Europe. Member for Leicester, East (Keith Vaz) on securing tonight’s Adjournment debate. Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.— [Tony Cunningham.]6 Nov 2007 : Column 127Mr. My concern—and, I think, that of my fellow citizens—is that those erroneous figures may have been used in the process of setting Government policy. No one wants a wide-open door, but no one wants a door that is slammed shut either. Of course, we led the way in opening up our labour market when eight countries joined the EU in 2004, and our intention is to continue that process by opening our labour market to Bulgaria and Romania, albeit more gradually. Only this September we heard reports of the French police raiding homes and squats in Calais with tear gas, attempting to find illegal immigrants. Secure borders will give the public greater confidence in our immigration system, and they will be less resentful of those who are here legitimately.6 Nov 2007 : Column 124There has also been talk recently of the importance of British jobs for British people. Such delays are unacceptable.We should be asking our European neighbours to play a larger role, and to construct and engage in a process to deal effectively with illegal immigration. That is not true any more.There are two themes from those early debates that are still with us: a concern about public services, which was at the heart of some of my right hon. That is only 300,000 people fewer than the 1.1 million foreign workers in the UK and that figure does not include British workers based further afield, figures on which are not available. That is the new balance that we have tried to strike in taking the decision on Bulgaria and Romania.The first thing, therefore, that we had to weigh up was the evidence of the benefits. That is unacceptable to the Home Office and the country, as well as to the applicants themselves. That is why we have been awarded the honour of hosting the Olympic games in 2012, and why the internal cultural conflict predicted by Enoch Powell was so wrong. That is why we have set up the migration advisory committee, to provide the Government and those in the public domain, if truth be told, with evidence about where in the economy we need migration and where we do not. That serves to demonstrate not only that Britain benefits from migrants working in the UK, but that British people benefit from the agreements that allow that to happen, as it means that there is free movement of labour. The accession of Romania and Bulgaria is simply the next step and, with improvements in the process of immigration, I am certain that, within the next few years, Romanian and Bulgarian citizens will be welcomed with full working rights. The Birmingham media have consistently struck a tone of tolerance and engagement with this issue that is entirely appropriate. The British public have a right to expect accurate figures. The debate is about the balance, and that is why we will continue to have arguments about what is precisely the right balance. The employment rate among A2 migrants is even higher at 91 per cent. The EU and the free movement of labour within it enriches our country and our citizens. The fact is that, in this country, over the past century, we have entered into many agreements with European and Commonwealth countries, which means that we are obligated under treaties, rightly, to give jobs to people who are not British, based on merit. The fundamental problem appears to be not immigration itself but implementation, and the way in which funding is allocated. The Home Affairs Committee, which I have the privilege of chairing, will examine the issue on 27 November. The LGA sensibly suggests that the solution is to create a central pot of money for which local 6 Nov 2007 : Column 123authorities can apply when experiencing a higher-than-average number of migrants. The LGA suggests that local services struggle because they are not given the money that they need to serve the number of people who use them, as the allocation is based on the national census, which does not include the majority of immigrants. The most prevalent problem now is the shortage of skilled and unskilled labour, with some estimates calculating that as many as 10 per cent. The press have a very important role to play in this area, and such comment is well worth commending.Mr. The publication made a number of key points, the most significant being the finding that £6 billion a year of growth is attributable to migrants. The restrictions have made the Romanians believe that in the eyes of the UK and the rest of the EU they are not equal partners. The Romanian Government have agreed to give evidence at the session, and we look forward to seeing the Minister on that occasion.The decision to retain the restrictions must be seen against the background of a wide range of issues and debates surrounding immigration. The TUC has enthusiastically agreed with those findings.On 1 November 2007, the Local Government Association published a report examining the effect that immigration has had on public services. There are Indian and other citizens who came to this country to work hard and to help our economy, and they have been treated very badly.Mr. Those two features of the debate will, and should, stay with us over the months to come. To find out why the restrictions were retained, it is vital that we ask the question: why are we still afraid of immigration?At the end of October this year, the Home Office published a report entitled, “The Economic and Fiscal Impact of Immigration”. We are constantly made aware of the problems in Calais, with immigrants attempting to enter the UK illegally. We have the best economy in Europe, achieved under the skilled leadership of the Prime Minister. We will introduce biometric ID cards.My right hon. We will soon count people in and out of the country.