Britain will still need immigrants after Brexit, says cross-party report
BRITISH businesses will still need immigrants from EU countries after Brexit, according to MPs.
A powerful Commons committee said the Government should consider rules which allow EU workers to bypass some immigration controls, so that it’s still easier to come here from an EU country than from other parts of the world.
The Commons Committee for Exiting the EU said that leaving the EU would give the UK more control over immigration, but added: “The Government’s objective is to secure control of EU migration and this may not entail reducing numbers.”
The MPs said there could regional immigration controls, be so that migrants are invited to work in areas of the country where there are specific skills shortages.
They also criticised the Government’s claim that it would be better to walk away without an EU trade deal rather than accepting a bad deal.
The cross-party group said in a new report : “On our visits around the country, we have heard numerous requests from businesses for flexibility in a future immigration system to ensure that sectors currently reliant on EU workers do not face a sudden shortage of labour.
“The impact of EU workers in the UK labour market has been profound, with significant employment of EU nationals in sectors as varied as seafood processing in Aberdeen, strawberry picking in Staffordshire, vets in Scottish abattoirs, digital skills in London, social care in Wales or daffodil pickers in Cornwall.”
The report said business leaders wanted it to be easy for EU workers to come here.
“There was support for a ‘lighter touch’ immigration system for EU workers than for those from outside the EU. The Government would have to work out how it wished to introduce control of who came in and out,” the MPs said.
They suggested there could be a specific work permit for EU migrants which employers, rather than migrants themselves, would apply for.
The MPs also highlighted comments from David Davis, the secretary of state for exiting the European Union, who gave evidence to the inquiry last month and said migrant numbers would not necessarily fall as a result of Brexit.
MPs also criticised Prime Minister Theresa May’s claim, in a speech in January, that “no deal for Britain is better than a bad deal for Britain”.
They warned that this claim was “unsubstantiated” because the Government did not appear to have conducted research into the impact of quitting the EU without a deal.
The Government should conduct a thorough assessment of the economic, legal and other implications of leaving the EU without a deal in place
Committee chairman and Labour MP Hilary Benn said: “We all want the best possible deal for the UK but what we are able to secure will ultimately depend on what the 27 member states are prepared to agree to.”
“The Government is right to try and negotiate both the divorce settlement and a new trading relationship in tandem, but it should also be prepared for the worst case – ie that a new trade agreement is not reached or ratified by the day we leave – because the timescale allowed by Article 50 is particularly tight.
“The Government should conduct a thorough assessment of the economic, legal and other implications of leaving the EU without a deal in place.
“The public and Parliament have a right to the maximum possible information about the impact of the different future trading options being considered.”
Hillary Benn