It is planned to modernize the point system.

London: Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed on Thursday to reduce the number of migrants coming to Britain, saying he would prepare a plan to reform a points-based immigration system that would make businesses responsible for training British workers.

Hours after official data showed net migration had reached a record high of more than 900,000 people in the year to June 2023, far exceeding initial estimates, Starmer called a press conference to outline his determination to reduce the figures. for which he blamed the policies of the former Conservative government.

High levels of immigration have become a hot issue in Britain. Voters are concerned that overstretched public services cannot cope with such a large influx of people, while industries such as health care say they cannot function without foreign workers.

“A failure of this magnitude is not just bad luck… No, it is a failure of a different order… Brexit was used for this purpose, to turn the UK into a ‘one nation experiment’ with open borders,” Starmer said. press conference on the UK’s decision to leave the European Union in 2016.

“Where we find clear evidence of sectors that are overly reliant on immigration, we will reform the points system and ensure that applications for relevant visa routes, be it the skilled workers route or the shortage occupations list, will now come in with new expectations for teaching people here in our country.”

According to him, if enterprises do not “play ball”, they will be prohibited from hiring foreign workers.

The points-based immigration system introduced by the Conservatives in 2021 following Brexit awards points for certain skills and qualifications and only issues visas to those with enough points.

Surge in numbers
Earlier on Thursday, Office for National Statistics (ONS) data showed net migration in the year to the end of June 2023 was 906,000, up from the previous estimate of 740,000.

The number fell 20% to 728,000 in the year to the end of June 2024, according to the ONS, driven by a fall in the number of dependents coming with people on study visas after the previous Conservative government changed the rules.

The big jump in 2023 figures is due to more data being available, more information on Ukrainian visas and improved estimates of migration, the ONS said.

High levels of legal migration in 2016 were one of the driving forces behind the UK’s vote to leave the EU.

While post-Brexit visa changes have led to a sharp drop in the number of European Union migrants to the UK, new work visa rules have led to a surge in immigration from India, Nigeria and Pakistan, often to fill vacancies in health and social care.