Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Damian Green and Sheila Gilmore

Monday 21st May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

T2. Given that the vast majority of international students leave the UK at the end of their courses, why do the Government insist on counting them when calculating net migration figures, which other countries do not do, to the detriment of institutions such as Edinburgh university in my constituency that are competing with other countries for those students?

[The Minister for Immigration (Damian Green)]

First, I assure the hon. Lady that there is not a limit on the number of students coming in. The reason we include them in the immigration system is simply that the UN definition of an immigrant is someone who comes to a country with the intention of staying there for more than a year, so any student who comes to stay for more than a year, according to the UN definition, is an immigrant.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Damian Green and Sheila Gilmore

Monday 6th February 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Immigration (Damian Green)]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for revealing how effective UKBA enforcement is in his constituency and elsewhere. Along with measures to bring down immigration and ensure that those who come to this country can contribute to it, enforcement against those here illegally continues to be important. I am happy to say that over the past year, the UKBA has conducted nearly 6,500 illegal working enforcement visits, making more than 4,000 arrests and serving more than 1,700 penalty notices to employers of illegal labour. Such tough action will send out the message that Britain is no longer a soft touch for illegal immigration.

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

T2. The Secretary of State has already explained what an exciting summer this is going to be for Britain. Can she reassure us that, given the cuts in the staffing of the UKBA, we will not see a repeat of the problems that took place last summer?

[Damian Green]

I am happy to tell the hon. Lady that, as we said at the time, the initial look at the pilot measures taken over the summer actually showed that the enforcement that was going on was more effective for being more targeted. As she knows, there were clearly difficulties, which are being looked at by the chief inspector. When his report comes in, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary will report back to the House on what he has found.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Damian Green and Sheila Gilmore

Monday 7th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

11. What estimate she has made of the future number of staff employed by the UK Border Agency.

[The Minister for Immigration (Damian Green)]

Our priority remains to secure the border and to control migration while we help to reduce the public deficit. We expect to have reduced by about 5,200 posts from the start of the review period to around 18,000 by March 2015. We are on track to meet our staff reduction target.

[Sheila Gilmore]

Will the Minister tell us how many of those 5,200 staff are being cut from the front line of the border force?

[Damian Green]

The hon. Lady will know that later this afternoon my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary will make a statement covering the issues that she is interested in. The reductions in staffing are not affecting the front line because we are improving the front line by, for instance, having airline liaison officers overseas. Over the past few years, that has prevented 60,000 people whom we did not want to travel from travelling in the first place. The use of facial recognition technology and e-gates also makes our borders more secure.