Action to reduce immigration could go further, minister says

Robert Jenrick said that “if we need to do more, we will do it”

Further measures will be taken to reduce net migration if it is necessary for the Government to deliver on its manifesto pledge, the Immigration Secretary has said.

Robert Jenrick has said the Government is committed to delivering on its 2019 manifesto pledge to reduce net migration from the pre-Brexit level of 226,000.

Speaking on Sky News, he said: “This is very important to me and the government. So if we need to do more, we will do it because we are committed to reducing net migration.

“If we need to take any further steps in the coming months, then we will do so. But people have no doubt that this is a very big first step.”

His comments followed Monday's announcement of what Home Secretary James Cleverley described as the biggest ever cut in net migration, with a target of 300,000 fewer arrivals.

He outlined a five-point plan that would come into effect in force from April to reduce net migration, which stood at 672,000 for the year ending June this year. That's down from the record 745,000 for the year ending last December.

However, it is still almost three times the pre-Brexit level of 226,000, when the Tories announced its manifesto on reducing net migration.

Asked whether he believed he could deliver on that promise, Mr Jenrick said: “I think we can. We propose here a path to this that will result in a reduction of at least 300,000 people.

“In addition to this, there are other factors because you see a large number of Ukrainians, Hong Kongers and Afghans who have come to country in recent years. These numbers are starting to flow through the system.”

The government will also benefit from a surge in the number of international students, which will begin to decline and those who arrived in the last three years will begin to return to their home countries.

In its autumn statement, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicted that this would contribute to a fall in net migration to 410,000 in 2023/24, 315,000 in 2024/25, 260,000 in 2025/26 year and 245,000 in the period from 2026 to 2028.

This OBR analysis takes into account an estimated reduction of 150,000 from the previously announced policy of banning postgraduate students from bringing in dependents, which comes into force from January next year.

This will result in a further 150,000 reduction, down from five . A targeted plan was announced on Monday that included banning care workers from bringing family members to the UK, raising the wage threshold for skilled foreign workers to £38,700 and ending the wage discount scheme for employers using foreign workers in shortage areas .

< p>This could reduce the 2024/25 figure of 315,000 by 150,000 below the 2019 total of 226,000, but it is likely to be unclear whether this can be achieved before the general election. if they happen next fall because the new measures won't come into force until the spring.

On Monday, Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, warned that the five-point plan was «too late» and called on the government to go further , introducing a general restriction on immigration.