In response to the Conservative Party’s announcements on immigration policy, CPS Research Director Karl Williams said:
‘The Conservatives’ announcement of an annual migration budget, voted on by Parliament, is a welcome step in the right direction. That is why an annual migration budget was one of the core recommendations of the CPS’s recent report on how to fix our dysfunctional immigration system, written with Robert Jenrick and Neil O’Brien.
‘While it’s disappointing that the proposal excludes key visa routes such as student and graduate routes, the measure will improve transparency and accountability.
‘As our recent report highlighted, far too much of the debate around migration is hamstrung by low-quality official data and modelling which takes into account the benefits but not the costs of migration. The migration budget, and the more joined-up and nuanced migration data we will see as a result, will make for better evidence-based policy. It should be supported by people on all sides of the migration debate.
‘Hopefully, this announcement will also lead other parties, not least Labour, to be far clearer about the level of migration they think Britain needs and how they will go about delivering it.’
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
- Karl Williams is Research Director at the Centre for Policy Studies
- CPS research on migration include ‘Taking Back Control: Why Britain needs a better approach to immigration’, ‘Net Migration and Housing’, and ‘Stopping the Crossings’
- For further information and media requests, please contact Emma Revell on 07931 698246 or [email protected] and Josh Coupland on 07912 485 655 or [email protected].
- The Centre for Policy Studies is one of the oldest and most influential think tanks in Westminster. With a focus on taxation, economic growth, business, welfare, education, housing and green growth, its goal is to develop policies that widen enterprise, ownership and opportunity.
Date Added: Tuesday 4th June 2024
