Door must stay open for thousands of migrants, says minister

SCOTTISH Secretary Alister Jack will demand that thousands of lowpaid migrants should be allowed into Scotland after Brexit.

The Tory minister is set to urge Boris Johnson to extend a seasonal workers pilot scheme – and massively reduce the proposed EU migrant salary threshold.

As well as speaking to the Prime Minister, Mr Jack is preparing to meet home Secretary Priti Patel. he will urge both to dramatically lower the £30,000 salary threshold Theresa May had proposed for EU migrants post-Brexit, claiming this will not work outside London.

Sources close to Mr Jack said he was ‘confident’ Mr Johnson and Miss Patel would bend to his demands – and claimed he plans to make boosting migration to Scotland one of his top priorities.

Mr Jack is also calling on officials to expand the seasonal workers pilot scheme which currently allows 2,500 non-european economic Area (EEA) workers into the UK for brief periods to do agricultural work. he said similar schemes should be

‘Confident he will make real progress’

introduced for the NHS and construction industry.

Mr Jack added: ‘I don’t think the solution is done by geography or sectors because you’ll always forget an area or you’ll forget a sector. I think we need to do a financial figure, but it’s got to be a lot less than £30,000.’

Westminster’s Scottish affairs committee has recommended that up to 10,000 non-EEA migrants should be allowed into the UK under the seasonal workers scheme.

The pilot scheme is scheduled to be reviewed next year.

Last night, a source close to Mr Jack said: ‘he absolutely agrees that we need workers coming in and ensuring that is going to be one of his priorities. he will ensure that we get a system that works.

‘he thinks that the £30,000 threshold is not the right level and that will be raised with the Prime Minister, and he is confident that he will be able to make real progress on that.’

The UK Government has said it will review the current immigration arrangements, with officials set to investigate the introduction of an Australia-style pointsbased system.