World

UK Parliament Urges Government to Overhaul Immigration Policy, Build Trust

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The UK Parliament's Home Affairs Committee urges the government to build greater consensus and trust on immigration-related data and decision-making as part of the new immigration policy, the committee said Monday in its report.
Sputnik

"In this report, we set out five key areas, where we believe reforms are needed to build consent around a fair, principled and effective immigration policy in the UK. There is a lack of trust in official data, targets, and decision-making on immigration policy. We need open and honest debate informed by evidence, and a new transparent way of making and debating immigration policy," the report summary read.

The UK lawmakers also urged the government to ensure that relevant rules are clear, fair and effectively enforced.

The committee stressed that the polarization of immigration-related issues should be avoided as well as indiscriminate treatment of all types of immigration.

READ MORE: Immigration Good for UK Though Citizens Want to See Control Over Process — May

The report called for "much stronger coordination… between immigration policy and labor market policy to ensure that immigration works for the economic and social interests of the UK and its citizens."

Finally, the report called on the government to invest in housing and public services to manage the impact of immigration on local and national levels.

Europe has faced an acute immigration crisis in the last few years with hundreds of thousands of people arriving yearly in search of a better future. French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb has recently urged the United Kingdom to provide more guarantees regarding the migrants currently in France who wish to cross the English Channel. In particular, Collomb said in an interview published on Sunday that he would like to ensure that London takes responsibility for some of the relevant costs.

The issue of control over migration was at the center of the 2016 Brexit referendum's campaign. The ruling Conservative Party has stressed since the country made the decision to quit the bloc that it would allow the United Kingdom to regain control of its borders.

Discuss