Britain to insist on ‘sustainable’ fishing levels
ALL FISH stocks in UK waters will be fished at sustainable levels after Brexit, the Government has said as it publishes new legislation on fisheries.
The Fisheries Bill being introduced into Parliament creates the powers for the UK to operate as an independent coastal state and manage its fish stocks. It contains a legal guarantee the UK will quit the EU-wide Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) at the end of the transition period in December 2020. At present, the CFP dictates how much British fishermen can catch and where, and fishermen have often complained they do not get a fair share of what is caught in UK waters.
The new legislation will end the automatic right of EU vessels to fish in British waters, with access to fisheries set to be a matter for the UK to negotiate in the future. Foreign vessels will have to be licensed and follow rules set by the UK.
The Bill’s publication comes in the wake of a warning from Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar that Brussels would look for concessions on fishing in exchange for the UK’s financial services industry to have better access to Europe.
REPLACING FREEDOM of movement with a points-based immigration system after Brexit could cut economic growth and may only lead to small improvements in standards of living, experts have warned.
The Government’s proposed overhaul of migration rules could have “zero effect” on providing more British jobs for British workers, it was also suggested.
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) said having skill and salary thresholds for migrants compared to freedom of movement is “likely to reduce future growth of the UK economy” as well as the population.
A report advised keeping the system “simple” but said labelling it as a points-based system (PBS) would “only be cosmetic and have no purpose”.
The body, which provides independent, evidence-based advice to the Government, made a string of recommendations after reviewing plans for an Australian-style points-based immigration system set to be introduced after Brexit. Chairman Professor Alan Manning said: “There’s an inherent unpredictability as to what will happen.”
The report estimated “very small increases in GDP per capita and productivity” and slightly improved public finances”, but Prof Manning said this would not equate to improvements in “an individual’s living standards”.
Asked if the changes could boost the availability of British jobs for British workers, he said reviews of the impact of migration on UK wages and employment opportunities found “pretty much the impact is there will be zero effect”.
He added: “Immigration hasn’t really harmed people’s employment opportunities or their wages but equally it hasn’t really benefited them very much either.”
Ending free movement would see “slightly reduced pressures” on hospitals, schools and social housing and “slightly increased pressure” on social care, according to the findings.
Prof Manning said: “No perfect system exists and there are unavoidable, difficult trade-offs. The largest impacts will be in low-wage sectors and the Government needs to be clear about its plans for lower-skilled work migration.”
Separately, the Government insisted yesterday that the UK and European Union will remain “allies, partners and friends”, as both sides geared up for potentially fractious trade talks.
Europe Minister Christopher Pincher, representing the Government at the last scheduled Ministerial meeting during the UK’s membership of the EU in Brussels, said it would be a “historic week”.
While the UK will leave the EU at 11pm on Friday, the negotiations on trade and other aspects of the future relationship with Brussels which will follow already look set to be difficult.
Mr Pincher, attending the General Affairs Council, said: “I’m here to reassert to my EU friends and colleagues that, though we are leaving the EU, we are not leaving Europe.
“Our shared history, our shared values, our commitment to security and prosperity continue as equals – sovereign equals.”
In a sign of the choppy waters ahead, Brussels is set to insist European judges continue to hold sway in Britain after Brexit – something that will be strongly resisted by Brexiteers.
According to The Times ,a leaked diplomatic document suggests the EU is preparing to demand that the European Court of Justice is able to enforce rules on trade, fishing and security even after Britain is classified as a ‘third country’.
There’s an inherent unpredictability as to what will happen.
Professor Alan Manning, of the Migration Advisory Committee.