by When Rishi Sunak brought Suella Braverman back into the Cabinet as Home Secretary on 25 October last year, it was seen as a clear sign for the Right party that he would be tough on immigration.
At the heart of her re-appointment, according to allies of the former Home Secretary, was a written agreement setting out four key proposals to reduce net migration, which official figures showed was about to hit a record high of 745,000. for the year ending December. 2022.
The agreement, which has been seen by the Telegraph, set out measures to fulfill the Conservatives’ 2019 manifesto pledge to reduce overall levels of migration from their pre-Brexit level of 239,000 at the time. Mrs Braverman and her supporters believed the document, although not signed, had been verbally agreed to by Mr Sunak on multiple occasions and witnessed by others.
The deal helped secure the support of Ms Braverman and her right-wing MP backers for the party as Mr Sunak tries to nail down the leadership following the resignation of Liz Truss as prime minister.
Her allies claim that her demands – followed in six letters to the Prime Minister over 12 months – have been ignored, leaving the party open to criticism that it has breached its manifesto promise. These are the measures proposed by Mrs. Braverman.
1. Raising worker salary thresholds
In the agreement seen by The Telegraph, she wanted to raise the minimum salary threshold required to grant visas to foreign skilled workers from £26,200 a year to £40,000. That would aim to reverse the 150 percent rise to 335,000 overseas foreign workers granted visas this year compared to pre-pandemic levels.
So far, there has been no change. Downing Street is now considering raising the level, although no decision has been made and speculation has suggested it is more likely to be raised in line with inflation, having been frozen since it was introduced in 2020.
That would be around £30,000, still far short of the £40,000 Mrs Braverman had asked for and the figure suggested on Friday by Boris Johnson who also admitted, as the architect of the points-based immigration system, that It was a “mistake”. to set it as low as it was originally.
The right of the party supports such a large increase in the form of the New Conservatives who insisted on an increase to £38,000, which, according to them, would reduce migrants by 54,000 a year.
Mrs Braverman went further, pushing for £45,000, while Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick is proposing at least £35,000, the median salary for workers in the UK.
However, Professor Brian Bell, chairman of the Government’s migration advisory committee (MAC), warned that any figure higher than the figure for foreign skilled work inflation would translate into graduate-level employment, turning the clock back to what it was before Mr. Johnson restored the. system.
2. Limit the number of dependents
Before the figures came out in May showing that 606,000 net emigrations had taken place at the time, the Prime Minister announced curbs on the dependents of post-graduate students. From January, only those postgraduates doing research will be allowed to bring in relatives, which could cut around 150,000 from the net migration total.
Mr Sunak said it was the “toughest single measure” anyone had taken to reduce levels of legal migration in a long time but Ms Braverman wanted it to go further and limit dependents on all visas – and that especially on health and social care. ,where 144,000 workers have brought in 174,000 spouses or children.
Mr Jenrick who co-signed Mrs Braverman’s final letter on net migration last October, wants to ban all dependents of care workers as well as limit all health and social care visas.
It is understood that Steve Barclay, when the health secretary proposed, a block on the dependents of care workers, but saw the founder of the proposal against resistance from his own officials and from other Whitehall departments.
It is now back on the table as an option being considered by Number Ten, although it may not be a total ban and instead there could be restrictions on one dependent per worker, for example.
Victoria Atkins, the Health Secretary, is said to be open to discussions about reducing the number of dependents but is concerned that any cap on visas could damage efforts to clear the NHS’s waiting list backlog.
3. Graduate visas ax
Mrs Braverman used a letter to the Prime Minister last November to back her proposal to scrap the two-year postgraduate visa, where students can stay in the UK for two years after their studies with their dependents and no need to work.
She suggested instead that they should have a four-month grace period to stay in the UK after graduating where they could look for work – and switch to a work visa if successful. Otherwise, they would have to leave. The New Caoráná MPs group believes this would reduce migration by 50,000 per year.
Number Ten was opposed by the Treasury and the Department for Education because it gives universities an attractive selling point for overseas students, whose higher fees subsidize the costs of UK domestic students, reducing the need more state support.
However, Mrs Braverman has supporters in the MAC, which opposed its introduction due to concerns that it would act as a “costly” way for overseas students to access the UK labor market.
Professor Bell said he was concerned that overseas students were taking advantage of one-year masters courses to gain two-year access to work in the UK, often in lower-skilled jobs.
4. ‘Mickey Mouse’ degrees, shortage of careers and caps
In the agreement, Mrs Braverman expressed her concern that there had been “a large increase in the number of foreign students from developing countries attending non-Russell group universities for Masters in Business Studies with dependents”.
She wanted to “prioritise” particular universities and courses which she felt were sacrificing standards in order to boost revenue by admitting high-paid foreign students on lower-quality degrees, Critics often call it Mickey Mouse steps.
Number Ten confirmed in May that they were looking at “low quality” degrees but had stopped – so far – taking action after being warned by the MAC and universities that it could push some institutions into in bankruptcy.
In her letter to the Prime Minister in November 2022, Mrs Braverman also called for an end to the Shortage Occupation List (SOL), under which companies can hire foreign workers at 20 per cent below the current rate if difficulties in filling roles. because?
This has been supported by MAC, which is concerned that it is being used by businesses to exploit cheap skilled labour, which not only weakens the market but also acts as a deterrent to UK domestic workers being trained for the fill in gaps. Labor has promised to end it if they win the election.
Number Ten is considering amendments to the list but it is likely that there will be carve-outs for health and social care staff. Downing Street is also understood to be skeptical of Mrs Braverman’s claims (backed by Mr Jenrick) for a cap on health and care visas due to concerns about the impact on reducing NHS waiting lists.
Mrs Braverman also proposed an overall limit on migration, set at a level agreed by Parliament each year, similar to the limit proposed in the illegal migration act on the number of refugees admitted annually through safe and legal channels. However, such an absolute limit was ruled out.
De Braverman’s Tory coalition said: “The Prime Minister must continue to deliver on our 2019 manifesto promise rather than trying to mislead people with fancy words and vague promises. Suella was very clear about what needed to be done and he ignored her. That’s why they didn’t like her – because she had political principles.”
Yesterday, in an interview with the Mail on Sunday, Mr Sunak defended himself against claims that he had given up ‘bargaining’ to implement key policies, in return for his support for the leadership bid.
“Of course you have conversations with people when you are in a leadership election and not just with Suella,” said Mr Sunak. Asked if he was concerned about providing her with proof, he said: “That’s a question for her. I’m really getting on with delivering things.”
Number Ten said Mr Sunak was very clear that he believed migration was too high and needed to fall to more “sustainable” levels. A Downing Street spokesman noted the numbers were slowing, adding: “We are ready to act and do more.”
