logo
Immigration reforms for ‘complete reset' to be introduced in Parliament

Immigration reforms for ‘complete reset' to be introduced in Parliament

Independenta day ago
Legislation to end the recruitment of care workers from abroad is set to be introduced as part of a raft of immigration reforms.
New rules to be laid in Parliament on Tuesday will also seek to increase salary and skills thresholds up to degree level for skilled workers, which will cut eligibility for 111 occupations.
A new time-limited temporary shortage list will also be introduced until the end of 2026 for below degree level, where recruiting foreign workers is key to build critical infrastructure or industrial strategy.
But those workers will no longer be able to bring their families and will not be entitled to salary and visa fee discounts.
The legislative measures are the first policy changes to be introduced from the Government's Immigration White Paper to tighten controls and cut migration to the UK.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: 'We are delivering a complete reset of our immigration system to restore proper control and order, after the previous government allowed net migration to quadruple in four years.
'These new rules mean stronger controls to bring migration down, to restore order to the immigration system and to ensure we focus on investing in skills and training here in the UK.'
The changes, if approved by MPs and peers, will come into force from July 22.
Further measures from the White Paper such as increasing English language requirements and raising the immigration skills charge are also expected to be in place by the end of the year.
The White Paper is aimed at reducing numbers, clamping down on abuses of the system and ending a reliance on cheap foreign labour.
Home Office estimates indicate that changes from the plan could reduce the number of people coming to the UK by up to 100,000 per year, when looking at eight of its proposals including on study and work routes and a higher level of English language requirement.
But the move to scrap care worker visas has sparked concerns from the sector, with GMB national officer Will Dalton describing the decision as 'potentially catastrophic' as the care sector was 'utterly reliant on migrant workers' and still had more than 130,000 vacancies across the country.
The Home Office believes there are 40,000 potential members of staff originally brought over by 'rogue' providers who could work in the sector while UK staff are trained up.
Transitional arrangements for overseas care workers already in the UK have also been set out on Tuesday, according to the department.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Morning Bid: Markets sit tight for trade progress
Morning Bid: Markets sit tight for trade progress

Reuters

time24 minutes ago

  • Reuters

Morning Bid: Markets sit tight for trade progress

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Ankur Banerjee Markets shrugged off the U.S. Senate passing President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill", with investor attention fixed to the path for U.S. interest rates and trade deals ahead of the United States' re-imposition of tariffs on July 9. Trump's tirade against the Federal Reserve and its Chair Jerome Powell to lower rates has stoked investor worries of the central bank's independence and credibility. It has also led to traders pricing in the possibility of early rate cuts. But Powell, at a central bank gathering in Portugal, reiterated that the Fed plans to "wait and learn more" about the impact of tariffs on inflation before lowering interest rates. That, along with relatively upbeat labour data on Tuesday, has left investors none the wiser about when the Fed would cut rates and watching out for Thursday's nonfarm payrolls data for cues. European stocks are set for a slightly higher open after a mixed Asian session, where Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.75% whereas Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (.HSI), opens new tab gained 0.75%. Trump's tax bill, which will add to the already enormous U.S. debt pile, slash taxes, reduce social safety net programs and boost military and immigration enforcement spending, now heads to the House of Representatives for possible final approval. Meanwhile, with the July 9 tariff day creeping closer, countries are scrambling to agree trade deals with the U.S. India is likely ink a deal whereas Japan is not, Trump said. All that has left markets in flux as we head into the second half of the year. The first half was dominated by relentless U.S. dollar selling as investors grappled with Trump's chaotic trade policies and looked for alternative places to park their money. The euro has had a blistering 2025 so far gaining 14% and perched at its highest level since September 2021, but whether it could replace the dollar as the world's reserve currency of choice is an open question. Central bankers gathered for an annual conference in the Portuguese resort of Sintra do not expect a major challenge to the dollar's status any time soon. "It's not going to happen just like that overnight. It never did historically," said European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde. "But there is clearly something that has been broken. Whether it is fixable, or whether it is going to continue to be broken - I think the jury's out." Key developments that could influence markets on Wednesday: Economic events: Euro zone unemployment rate for May, trade deal updates Trying to keep up with the latest tariff news? Our new daily news digest offers a rundown of the top market-moving headlines impacting global trade. Sign up for Tariff Watch here.

Glastonbury chanters or the Southport hate-tweeter – throw the book at one, you must throw it at them all
Glastonbury chanters or the Southport hate-tweeter – throw the book at one, you must throw it at them all

The Guardian

time37 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

Glastonbury chanters or the Southport hate-tweeter – throw the book at one, you must throw it at them all

News that Avon and Somerset police have launched criminal investigations into the bands Bob Vylan and Kneecap for their Glastonbury sets reminds me that we have a severe prisons crisis in the UK, and that we need to build more of them. Perhaps we should build a special one for all the people we keep criminally investigating for saying, rather than doing, bad things. I'm pretty sure they have a few of those types of prisons in other countries. Although, it must be said that those are normally countries run by people we consider bad. Confusing! But look, maybe we're becoming the sort of country where we imprison lots of people for saying awful things. I don't … love this look for us, I have to say. But no doubt someone has thought it all through very, very carefully. If so, they could put the two nasty idiots from Bob Vylan in it. Obviously all of Kneecap, too. Maybe those guys would have their cell on the same landing as Lucy Connolly, the woman who was imprisoned for two years and seven months for a repulsive tweet in the wake of the Southport child killings. They could be joined by whoever at the BBC didn't pull the Glastonbury live stream on Saturday after Bob Vylan started their repulsive chants, given that Conservative frontbencher Chris Philp is now officially calling for the corporation to be 'urgently' investigated. I see Chris is also calling for the BBC to be prosecuted – so I guess he's already done the police investigation for them, and all at the same time as absolutely aceing his brief as shadow home secretary for where-are-they-now political outfit the Conservative party. In terms of Spewing Hate Into The Nation's Living RoomsTM, it must be said that the footage of Bob Vylan's offending set is still embedded into multiple stories on the MailOnline website, all containing an exhortation to 'watch the full video'. Should whoever is leaving the videos up on MailOnline also be investigated and prosecuted? Perhaps Chris Philp could adjudicate. Either way, let's keep a cell or five for them in the special new prison. After all, why on earth shouldn't we imprison a few journalists, too? In for a penny, and so on. Needless to say, embattled prime minister Keir Starmer has made time to have plenty of official views not just on the behaviour of the two bands, but on any future decisions to book them. If all you have is a hammer, everything is a nail – and if your big job before politics was being director of public prosecutions, then I'm sure everything looks like a prosecutable offence. It certainly did to the prime minister after last summer's riots in the wake of the Southport murders, when Starmer seemed to relish the response happening the best way he knew how: by rushing it through the courts. Connolly was one of those prosecuted, in her case for a manifestly revolting and racist but also clearly tossed-off post responding to a false rumour the killer was an asylum seeker, saying people could set fire to asylum hotels 'for all I care'. She admitted inciting racial hatred in court, but has since become something of a cause celebre for the fact that she is a mother with an otherwise clean record (and one who had lost a young child herself), and that she has got a harsher sentence for this tweet that she later deleted than some convicted rapists. I wrote in the immediate wake of the riots that it was clear that something big had happened in the UK – though it wasn't yet precisely clear what. Unfortunately, the prime minister seemed to think it was fairly simple. 'Let me also say to large social media companies and those who run them,' he said, albeit to some reporters instead, 'violent disorder clearly whipped up online: that is also a crime. It's happening on your premises, and the law must be upheld everywhere.' Sadiq Khan seemed to think it was something to do with the Online Safety Act not being 'fit for purpose'. In more successful hot takes, it was also the moment that Elon Musk test-drove his epithet 'two-tier Keir'. That one has stuck, and it will stick even harder if, for example, sublebrity band Bob Vylan don't get the book thrown at them in the same way that no-mark Lucy Connolly did. To be clear, I don't think any of the aforementioned lot ought to be in prison, however vile and unacceptable their behaviour was. But if you don't deal with them in pretty much the same way, then people are going to be talking far more loudly about two-tier justice again. This type of talk has already reached all the way into the Oval Office where, in February, vice-president JD Vance suggested to Starmer that the UK had a free speech problem. You might have seen that Bob Vylan have just promptly had their US visas revoked for what the deputy secretary of state called 'their hateful tirade'. But we can't expect consistency from the Trump administration. What we expect of our own country is infinitely more important. I used to think masses of legislation around what horrible things people could or couldn't say was a niche-application civilisational advance, but I have changed my view, and now fear we are sleepwalking towards a society where half the people will think certain incarcerated miscreants are political prisoners, and the other half will think a different bunch of incarcerated miscreants are political prisoners. I am very much for living in a country where we don't think we have political prisoners at all. Getting there isn't simple – but stopping travelling in the wrong direction would be a good start. Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. This article's URL was amended shortly after publication to remove draft text that was included in error.

Swansea Start-ups Named Among Best in Wales
Swansea Start-ups Named Among Best in Wales

Business News Wales

timean hour ago

  • Business News Wales

Swansea Start-ups Named Among Best in Wales

Two Swansea start-up companies have been named among the best in Wales. At the regional finals of the UK Start-Up Awards, The Cusp won marketing, advertising and public relations start-up of the year, while Hannah Worth, of Bowla – a Bowl with a Roll – won young entrepreneur of the year. The Cusp has been supported by a website development grant and a business growth grant from Swansea Council via the UK Government's UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Bowla – a Bowl with a Roll – has been supported by a website development grant. Founded by Jess Hickman and Louise Rengozzi, The Cusp now has clients throughout the UK as well as in Abu Dhabi. Louise said: 'Winning this award is a huge milestone for us. It's a real sense of achievement and a sign that we're doing something right. 'Over the past two and a half years, we've made incredible progress, and that wouldn't have been possible without the support of Swansea Council's business advisors from the start. 'Their guidance, along with backing from the Shared Prosperity Fund, helped us grow with purpose, create local jobs and invest in people. We're super proud to be building something that supports careers and futures right here in Swansea.' Bowla – a Bowl with a Roll – is a micro bakery and lunch outlet based in Swansea Market. Hannah Worth, who founded the business with her father, said: 'To have my hard work recognised on a regional scale has been massive. It's made me reflect on the successes and pitfalls of building a business from scratch. I'm extremely grateful for all the support we've received from the council and our customers.' Both The Cusp and Hannah will now compete with other regional winners at the UK-wide award finals.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store