Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to deal with net immigration; and whether they intend to revise their targets.

We are building an immigration system that is fair to British citizens and legitimate migrants, that is tough on those who abuse the system or flout the law, and that ensures people come to the UK for the right reasons – to work hard and contribute to our economy and society.

We have cut net migration from outside the EU by nearly a quarter since 2010 – close to levels not seen since the late 1990s. We have also clamped down on nearly 800 illicit colleges, reduced 45,000 visas from the further education route; and cut family visas by nearly a third since it came to power.

Our reforms have also made it more difficult for EU migrants to claim benefits in the UK and, through the landmark Immigration Act, made it tougher for illegal immigrants to remain by restricting access to work, housing, benefits, healthcare, bank accounts and driving licences and making it easier to remove those who have no right to be here by reducing the number of appeals.

The Government has reformed benefits, healthcare and housing rules to make them among the tightest in Europe and we continue to see an increase in the number of British citizens in work. In the past, the majority of growth in employment was taken up by foreign nationals; in the last year, two-thirds of it was accounted for by UK nationals. This shows that our immigration policy benefits UK nationals first while still attracting skilled migrants needed by British business.

However there is more to be done. The Prime Minister set out further measures to reduce migration, including EU migration, in his immigration speech delivered on 28 November.