by Tony Sharp

Created on: January 29, 2008

Britain has a woeful record when it comes to training enough of its own population to a sufficiently high standard to fulfil the needs of British industry, technology, science, pharmaceuticals and other fields that earn this country income from overseas.

When the Labour government opened the immigration floodgates to all and sundry, the British people were told repeatedly that migrants were coming here to do the jobs Britons refused to do and that their presence here was a major boost to the economy. The pressure group MigrationWatch rebuts that claim. This was Labour's justification for facilitating uncontrolled, unplanned and infrastructure-sapping immigration that is continuing to put pressure on British towns, cities and public services.

What many people in Britain argue for is selective, controlled immigration. Immigration should be mutually beneficial, therefore Britain should only grant residency to people who can contribute skills and expertise needed by the country. Immigration that is properly managed has all the upsides of being a benefit to the country's economy, without the downsides of providing services for large numbers of unskilled migrants seeking low paid work.

Countries around the world are selective about who they offer work permits, visas and permanent residency to, so they benefit as much as the immigrant does. In Britain, the Labour government finally implemented a Highly Skilled Migrants Programme (HSMP) in 2002 and people from around the world who met stated skills criteria and could find jobs were allowed to apply to enter Britain.

Since 2002, following skills assessments and permission being granted to live and work in the country, around 49,000 people have entered Britain under the terms of the HSMP. This figure should be put into its proper context. The number of migrants who have entered Britain is well in excess of 1.5 million people, so the number of people entering on the HSMP with skills and experience sought by British business is tiny in comparison.

In 2006 the entry criteria was tightened due to public disquiet about immigration in general. There was nothing wrong with that in itself. However it was decided to apply the new rules retrospectively to the Highly Skilled Migrants (HSM) who had been granted entry under the original rules. Many of the HSM already working in Britain have subsequently been told they no longer meet Britain's criteria and are being refused the right to remain in the country.

These include people who have

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