Call for migrant numbers cut

An independent body has recommended a cut in the number of migrant workers coming to Britain from outside the EU.

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) says there should be a reduction of between 13 per cent and 25 per cent next year.

This would see a cut of between 6,300 and 12,600 visas compared with 2009, according to the body.

The MAC has been asked to recommend a level for the Government's proposed immigration cap.

It says those with tier two visas - skilled workers with job offers - should prioritised over tier one visas - skilled workers without job offers.

Immigration minister Damian Green wants to bring net migration down from last year's 196,000 to "tens of thousands" by 2015, but businesses and education chiefs raised concerns that the cap could make it harder to attract elite scientists and world-class researchers to the UK.

The Commons Home Affairs Select Committee found the proposed cap could affect fewer than one in 100 migrants entering the UK.

In its report earlier this month, the committee said the Government would also need to look at other routes, including international students and those joining family members in the UK, if it is to fulfil its pledge.

Migrants may even have to be stripped of their right to settle in the UK in the long term to bring the numbers down, the MPs said.