THE Tories’ crackdown on migrant workers shows the need to devolve immigration powers to a “regional level”, according to a top industry representative.
Measures to prevent care workers from bringing over their families, increasing the minimum income requirement to £38,700 and reviewing the list of shortage occupations are the “polar opposite” of what is needed according to the head of the Aberdeen and Grampian Chambers of Commerce.
Home Secretary James Cleverly announced on Monday tough new measures he said would bring down by 300,000 the number of people legally moving to the UK.
But Russell Borthwick (below), the chief executive of Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, has said this is the “wrong policy”.
In a statement, he said that different parts of the country needed different approaches to immigration – calling for powers in that field to be devolved to a regional level.
That goes further than the Scottish Government’s approach, which has previously called for immigration powers to be devolved to Holyrood.
Borthwick said: “Today’s announcement further highlights why control of immigration policy should be devolved down to a regional level – because a one-size-fits-all approach simply does not work.
“If regions like the north east of Scotland are to prosper in the decades ahead, then they will need to overcome the significant challenge posed by their ageing population base.”
The former top businessman added that the north east of Scotland needed “more people to power our economy, not fewer”.
He said: “Human mobility and migration are often misunderstood or misrepresented in this debate, and what might be the right policy for one part of the UK could be the wrong policy for another part.
“This policy is the polar opposite of what the north east of Scotland requires right now – we need more people to power our economy, not fewer.
“We are now engaging with our members across the region to understand the full impact of these changes before making representations to government. If your business is going to be affected, we want to hear from you.”
Unions warned the measures, which they expect to exacerbate persistent shortages in care workers, would be an "utter disaster".
Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: "This will be an utter disaster because what they’re doing is basically sending out a really strong message to those migrant workers who are basically propping up the care sector and indeed in many cases the health sector and saying you’re not welcome here."
Meanwhile, First Minister Humza Yousaf called the package of measures an "act of self harm".
