Rishi Sunak rejects immigration restrictions, Braverman allies say

Rishi Sunak allegedly rejected plans for a one-year cap in November last year Photo: PHIL NOBLE/PA

Rishi Sunak scrapped a one-year cap on total migration, say allies of Suella Braverman, as the figure is about to hit a new record of 700,000.

The sacked former home secretary has put forward a proposal for an annual quota, approved each year by Parliament, as part of a package of measures to fulfill a manifesto promise Conservatives to reduce net migration.

The disclosure comes as follows: Official figures on Thursday are expected to confirm net migration is at its highest level since similar records began in 1980.

Internal Home Office forecasts predict net migration: The number of people entering the UK excluding those leaving has reached 700,000. year ending June 2023, surpassing the previous high of 606,000 recorded last year.

Other experts suggest it could be lower at 500,000, but even a more conservative estimate would still set a two-year record of 1.1 million, double the pre-Brexit level.

Official data is expected to show net migration is at its highest level since records began. Photo: BEN STANSALL/AFP

On Wednesday, the Office for Budget Responsibility revised its forecasts for net migration upward by 150,000 due to continued growth in the number of foreign workers and students. Ahead of next year's general election, net migration will remain at 410,000.

Allies of the former home secretary said she had put forward the annual migration quota in a letter to Number last November. 10 as one of a series of proposals to reduce net migration to the pre-Brexit 226,000.

A source said: “It was rejected and never made it past the concept stage.”

It comes a month after Ms Braverman told the Tory conference that in her “unfiltered, unvarnished, «unapologetic» belief the government must make good on its manifesto promise to cut net migration below 226,000 — and that its «ultimate ambition» was to reduce it to «tens of thousands» as David Cameron once promised.

Ms Braverman and her deputy Robert Jenrick, the immigration secretary, have proposed limiting the number of visas for foreign care workers and banning their ability to bring dependents with them as part of a push to force care home businesses to hire and train domestic workers in Britain.

< p>The UK issued 282,742 health and care visas in the year to June, up 172 percent on the previous year. More than half of them — 151,774 — were given to dependents of health care workers, almost three times the previous year.

“Back door to residence”

Number 10 is understood to be resisting the cap but is said to have proposed a compromise on dependency matters that would limit care workers to only one relative.

Ms Braverman and Mr Jenrick campaigned for the abolition of the two-year graduate visa for international students so they could remain in the UK after completing their degree, which she said was a «back door to residency». However, the proposal was blocked due to concerns that it could discourage bright international students.

They also proposed eliminating the shortage occupations list, under which companies could pay foreign workers 20 percent below the going rate for jobs where considered to be a labor shortage. Government migration advisers have warned bosses are using it to recruit cheaper foreign labour.

However, the Government is expected to press ahead with plans to raise the minimum wage threshold foreign workers must earn to qualify to obtain qualifications. for a UK work visa from £26,200 to more than £30,000.

But it is unlikely the government will announce changes on Thursday, when the Office for National Statistics publishes its latest net migration figures. This is expected to prompt demands from Conservative MPs for urgent action to reduce their numbers.