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The Prosser Perspective.... a weekly column from Dover and Deal MP Gwyn Prosser

26 February 2009

If you believed half of the headlines on some of the tabloid newspapers you could be forgiven for believing that our immigration rules are unenforceable, our asylum system is in meltdown and no one gets sent home – but nothing could be further from the truth.

My Home Affairs Select Committee is conducting an in-depth inquiry into the Government’s new ‘Points Based System’ of immigration and there’s no doubt that our final report will criticise some aspects of the new rules but it’s already clear that the reformed system is more effective and more practical than anything that preceded it.

The changes we’ve brought in are delivering the biggest shake-up to our border protection and immigration system in decades and the latest figures are starting to bear this out.

Quarterly statistics covering immigration and asylum, and reports of migration from Eastern Europe were published by the Home Office this week. Work applications from the eight accession countries have fallen to their lowest level since the new countries joined the European Union in 2004, according to the latest Accession Monitoring Report.

The Control of Immigration Statistics for the last quarter of 2008 show that: asylum applications have fallen by two per cent, the number of initial decisions to refuse or grant asylum was up by three per cent, and 16,525 failed asylum seekers and others were removed or departed voluntarily from the UK.

We have already demonstrated the flexibility of the points system through the suspension of the low-skilled worker tier and our plans to toughen up the existing Resident Labour Market test for employers. This will ensure that during these difficult economic times, when jobs are being lost, people already here have the first crack of the whip at getting work.

Along with our new Australian-style Points Based System, a high-tech process for counting people in and out of the country and the introduction of ID cards for foreign nationals; we are building a new immigration system fit for the 21st century, one which benefits Britain.

We have a zero cap on non-EU low-skilled migration and strict limits on Romanian and Bulgarian workers so we can monitor the impact on the UK.

In the House of Commons the Tories talk tough on asylum and immigration but they vote soft - they have repeatedly voted against the measures we have taken to control Britain's borders, including tougher penalties for those who attempt to smuggle people into the country and measures to simplify the appeals system.

The Opposition claims to be tough on border security but at the same time they question our plans to count people in and out so that we can control immigration and they continue to oppose ID cards which will help control our borders and stop fraudulent access to benefits and public services.

None of these details have shown up in the tabloid headlines of course but if you’ve lived in Dover for any length of time, the results of our reforms are only too clear to see.