Since report publication in July 2018, the immigration system in the UK has undergone significant reforms, in addition to leaving the European Union, the covid-19 pandemic had a major impact on immigration.
The Scottish Secretary points out in his response that non-EEA work visa applications are back to pre-pandemic levels, and EEA work visas have been increasing since the end of EU free movement.
At the time of publishing its report – July 2018 – the Committee raised concern that the points-based immigration system was complicated and bureaucratic.
In the Scottish Secretary’s response, he states that reforms are ongoing to streamline and simplify the system. He also offers an update on the latest quarterly statistics on EU immigration, showing that as of 31 December 2021, more than six million EU nationals and their families have been granted status under the EU Settlement Scheme, of which nearly 300,000 are in Scotland.
Scottish Affairs Committee Chair, Pete Wishart MP, said: “I am pleased that our Committee has finally received the Government’s response to the predecessor Committee’s report on immigration.
“However, such a delayed response has made it almost impossible for the Committee to track and scrutinise the impact immigration reforms are having on the people of Scotland.
“The predecessor Committee, which I chaired, would no doubt be disappointed that the Government response failed to address recommendations that could have benefited Scotland.
“This includes helping to tailor the immigration system to the needs of Scotland, such as through a Scotland specific shortage occupation list.”
The TUC yesterday accused the government of “turning its back” on working people after ministers failed to include an employment bill in the Queen’s Speech.
Vital rights ministers had promised like default flexible working, fair tips and pregnancy discrimination protections risk being ditched “for good”
New seafarer minimum wage plans are “unworkable” and won’t prevent a repeat of P&O, warns union body
The TUC has accused the government of “turning its back” on working people after ministers failed to include an employment bill in the Queen’s Speech.
The union body said that the government’s broken promise to boost workers’ rights will see “bad bosses celebrating”.
In 2019, the government announced it would bring forward a new employment bill to improve people’s rights at work, but despite committing to the bill on at least 20 occasions, ministers have shelved the legislation.
Commenting on the decision to exclude an employment bill from yesterday’s Queen’s Speech, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The prime minister promised to make Britain the best place in the world to work. But he has turned his back on working people.
“Today, bad bosses up and down the country will be celebrating.
“No employment bill means vital rights that ministers had promised – like default flexible working, fair tips and protection from pregnancy discrimination – risk being ditched for good.
“And it means no action on the scourge of insecure work and ending exploitative practices like zero-hours contracts and fire and rehire.
“After the P&O scandal, dragging our outdated labour laws into the 21st century has never been more urgent.
“But by shelving the employment bill, ministers have sent a signal that they are happy for rogue employers to ride roughshod over workers’ rights.
“Enough is enough. This is a government that just doesn’t get it – from the cost of living emergency to the insecure work epidemic.
“People can’t wait for greater rights and security at work – they need it now.”
On the seafarer minimum wage enforcement plans, O’Grady added: “This proposal is feeble and likely unworkable. The government has done nothing to tackle the most flagrant labour abuse in years by P&O.
“Only stronger employment legislation that boosts worker protections and stops companies firing on the spot will prevent another P&O-type scandal.”
The TUC says that the following policies were all promised within an employment bill, and are now risk being ditched altogether:
Ensure that tips go to workers in full.
Introduce a new right for all workers to request a more predictable contract.
Create a new single enforcement body offering greater protections for workers.
Extend redundancy protections to prevent pregnancy and maternity discrimination.
Make flexible working the default unless employers have good reason not to.
Allow parents to take extended paid leave for neonatal care.
Introduce a new legal entitlement to one week’s leave for unpaid carers.
In addition, the government consulted on reasonable notice period for shifts allocated and cancelled, and payments for cancelled shifts, which the TUC points out the government has “since gone quiet on.”
The union body also highlights that the government promise to make employers responsible for preventing sexual harassment risks falling by the wayside without the employment bill, as the policy needs primary legislation to carry it forward.
In the notes to the 2019 Queen’s Speech, the government said it would bring forward the employment bill to:
Protect and enhance workers’ rights as the UK leaves the EU, making Britain the best place in the world to work.
Promote fairness in the workplace, striking the right balance between the flexibility that the economy needs and the security that workers deserve.
Strengthen workers’ ability to get redress for poor treatment by creating a new, single enforcement body.
Offer greater protections for workers by prioritising fairness in the workplace, and introducing better support for working families.
Build on existing employment law with measures that protect those in low-paid work and the gig economy.
In the 2019 Conservative manifesto, the following promises were made on employment rights:
We will create a single enforcement body and crack down on any employer abusing employment law, whether by taking workers’ tips or refusing them sick pay.
We will ensure that workers have the right to request a more predictable contract and other reasonable protections.
We will encourage flexible working and consult on making it the default unless employers have good reasons not to.
We have reformed redundancy law so companies cannot discriminate against women immediately after returning from maternity leave.
We will legislate to allow parents to take extended leave for neonatal care, to support those new mothers and fathers who need it during the most vulnerable and stressful days of their lives.
We will look at ways to make it easier for fathers to take paternity leave.
We will extend the entitlement to leave for unpaid carers, the majority of whom are women, to a week.
The UK has one of the best workers’ rights records in the world, says UK Government
The UK has one of the best workers’ rights records in the world. As a result of government action, there are now more employees on the payroll than ever before, as we continue to support workers and build a high skilled, high productivity, high wage economy.
The government has protected and enhanced workers’ rights by:
Making sure 2.5 million people received a pay rise in April by raising the minimum and living wage. The largest ever cash increase to the National Living Wage will put over £1000 a year into a full-time workers’ pay packet, helping to ease cost of living pressures. We’re helping younger people too, by lifting the minimum wages for under-23s and apprentices.
Leading the world with one of the highest minimum wages in the world – more generous than those in similar economies such as France, Germany and Japan.
Holding UK businesses to account, ensuring employees are getting what they are owed. In December we named and shamed 208 employers who had failed to pay the minimum wage – taking the total number of employers named since 2014 to around 2,500. We made sure these companies paid back their employees and paid the price with hefty fines for law breakers. We have also quadrupled the maximum fine for employers who treat their workers badly.
Giving the lowest paid in society more control over when and where they work. The government just this week announced it will extend the ban on using exclusivity clauses to contracts where a worker’s guaranteed weekly income is below the Lower Earnings Limit, which is currently £123 a week. This ensures an estimated 1.5 million people have the option to pick up extra work if they want to, further increasing flexibility.
Tackling appalling business practices, such as P&O Ferries firing their employees without consultation. Reporting them to the insolvency service and taking an active role in ensuring they treat their workers fairly, we also recently committed to producing a statutory code on fire and rehire practices to strengthen the rights of all employees. This will clamp down on controversial tactics used by employers who fail to engage in meaningful consultations with employees before making changes to their contracts.
Recognising the importance of flexible working arrangements by announcing a wide-ranging package of measures to help give employees more flexible working options in the future, including seeking views on making flexible working the default unless employers have good reason not to.
Offering generous leave entitlements, continuing with our aim to make the UK the best place in the world to live and work. Workers get over 5 weeks of annual leave and a year of maternity leave, while the EU minimum for maternity leave is just 14 weeks.
As part of this, we also brought into force a world first, giving parents a new legal right to 2 week’s paid bereavement leave for those who suffer the devastating loss of a child, irrespective of how long they have worked for their employer.
Supporting workers throughout the pandemic, taking steps to protect the earnings of workers through furlough, including a new law to make sure furloughed employees who were made redundant received full redundancy payments.
And of course, all this action to support workers’ rights has come alongside the government’s unprecedented £9bn package to support families with the cost of living, including a £150 council tax rebate, and a £200 energy bill discount to cut energy bills for the vast majority of households.
Scottish Secretary responds to Queen’s Speech
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said: “This is a Queen’s Speech which delivers for Scotland and the whole of the UK.
“Measures in the Queen’s Speech will help us grow our economy, so we can continue to recover from the pandemic, tackle the rising cost of living and level up across the country.
“We will bring in a range of measures to make our country safer, from tackling state-sponsored espionage, to cracking down on modern slavery.
“We will show leadership with a series of ambitious reforms which will support citizens across the United Kingdom.
“We will continue to maximise the benefits of Brexit with legislation to cement our fantastic trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, and remove outdated EU laws. Outside of the EU, the UK will continue to prosper and thrive.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon today met staff co-ordinating the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine at the Western General Hospital.
The Western is one of 23 centres where priority groups will be vaccinated against coronavirus. The First Minister had a tour of the facility and learned about the detailed preparation which has gone into organising the delivery of the vaccine.
Those giving the vaccination to others will receive the injection first. The programme will then follow the independent advice received from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which recommends prioritising those with the greatest clinical need – including those aged over 80, and health and social care workers.
The First Minister said: “I’m grateful to everyone involved in giving this vaccine to those who need it most.
“By vaccinating the priority groups they will be covering those associated with 99 per cent of preventable COVID-19 deaths. That is a very compelling reason to put these groups first in the queue for this vaccine.
“Finally there is light at the end of the tunnel. But I ask everyone to be patient as we work our way through this vaccination programme, and continue to follow FACTS to keep us all safe.”
Calum Campbell, Chief Executive of NHS Lothian said: “As we prepare to launch our staff vaccination clinics, we reach a crucial milestone in the fight against COVID-19. Across NHS Lothian, a huge amount of planning has and will continue to take place to ensure that we can deliver the vaccine quickly, efficiently and effectively.
“I am delighted that the first COVID vaccinations in NHS Lothian will be given tomorrow and would like to thank all our staff for their dedication in making this happen.”
Healthcare workers are ready to begin vaccinating priority groups in Scotland against #coronavirus.
Today, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon met staff co-ordinating the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh.
The vaccine, which must be stored at well below freezing, has been transported to 23 locations around Scotland in temperature controlled lorries.
People will be required to have two doses, at least 21 days apart. Scotland has had an initial delivery of more than 65,500 doses, with more to follow.
Storage requirements mean logistics have had to be worked out carefully, planning is underway for the vaccine to be taken to care home residents from December 14.
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack celebrates the UK Government’s safe and speedy vaccine rollout
By Alister Jack, Secretary of State for Scotland (originally published in the Scottish Mail on Sunday 06/12/20)
Magnificent news for us all that the rollout of the first Covid-19 vaccine to be approved in the western world begins here in the UK.
Inch by painful inch, countries everywhere have been struggling to find an exit from the misery inflicted by this wretched pandemic and now we have a great, tangible leap forward thanks to brilliant scientists who have harnessed the power of their knowledge to bring us a safe vaccine which offers the chance to finally slacken the grip of Covid-19.
It is great news too for the Union. We know the 300-year-old links which bind us as one nation state have a great past, but here now is proof that the self-same Union offers us a great future too.
For make no mistake, all four nations which form the United Kingdom are benefitting equally from our combined strength as one country. From our furlough scheme, Covid testing, vaccine procurement, and now the efforts to get the vaccine to where it is needed, the UK Government has been working tirelessly to support all parts of the country through the pandemic.
The UK Government took advance steps to secure the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine which will be made available to frontline medical staff and some of our most vulnerable citizens from tomorrow.
The figures are astonishing, and a clear indication of the heft this country can bring to bear amidst a crisis of terrifying proportions. The initial shipments from Belgium will amount to some 800,000 doses and Scotland will quickly get 65,500 of those.
Backing those stellar scientists to the hilt, the UK Government has secured nearly 360 million vaccine doses, representing the world’s largest and most diversified vaccine portfolio. This means we have the best chance of securing speedy access to other vaccines once they finish their essential checks for efficacy and safety.
Right from the start, the UK Government has strained every sinew to aid the global search for a vaccine, funding more international research than any other country of comparable size.
We are starting to see real returns on that £230 million investment. Pfizer/BioNTech have delivered a vaccine with an outstanding 95 per cent effectiveness rate and no serious safety concerns – now approved by the regulator. There will be more vaccines to come from other sources – with the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine likely to join us soon on the front line of the Covid fight.
And of course, securing, approving and paying for millions of doses of safe vaccines is one thing – delivering them quite another altogether. The mass vaccination programme we are undertaking now is unlike anything we have seen before and here again the power of the Union is to the fore.
Doses will be distributed fairly across all parts of the UK according to population share. As a result Scotland will be able to vaccinate and protect priority groups such as the clinically vulnerable and frontline health and social-care workers.
It is wonderful that the UK Government has made experts from the forces available for us here in Scotland to help ensure the vaccines reach priority groups swiftly.
It has been heartening to see co-operation on this great endeavour across the United Kingdom. The UK Government has involved the devolved administrations at every stage – in the certain knowledge that full co-operation between Westminster, Holyrood, Stormont and the Senedd is the best for every citizen of these islands.
The conquest of Covid – for that is what we are aiming for – is a real display of what we can achieve together. The Union is firing on all cylinders, delivering fairly in each and every corner of the country.
Of course, we have many miles to go before we can rest, before we can declare Covid under control. That means not relaxing our guard just yet and still obeying the rules around hygiene and social distancing.
Though the approval of this first vaccine is perhaps an early Christmas present, this festive season will still – unfortunately – be lower key this year.
Yet we can now look forward to better times not so very far ahead, and to a time when Covid restrictions can at last be eased off.
I am confident people will ignore any false stories and embrace, at the first chance, the opportunity to protect themselves and their loved ones from a truly dreadful illness.
For my part, I will gladly roll up my sleeve and have the jabs, when my turn comes.
Meantime, we must concentrate fully on the task of rebuilding an economy laid low by an invidious enemy. Here too the Union has proved its worth, with thousands kept in jobs and countless businesses supported by the broad shoulders of the UK and the deep pockets of our Treasury.
Rather than the inward-looking and diminished country the Brexit naysayers said we risked becoming, Britain has in these last months shown not just amazing solidarity within our borders, but maintained engagement with our many friends around the world. The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, developed with UK Government funding, is to be made available to countries in the developing world on a not-for-profit basis in perpetuity. Britain remains a beacon of light in an often dark world.
Many people have made huge sacrifices this year. Much has been done, but we know much remains to be done.
However, let’s take a moment to savour this week’s good news. We are, in all four nations of our fantastic Union, looking forward to a bright future.
Legislation in the Queen’s Speech will allow us to get Brexit done, leave the EU on 31 January, and forge a bright future for Scotland and the rest of the UK, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said yesterday.
Mr Jack was speaking after Her Majesty The Queen had delivered a speech which set out the UK Government’s ‘ambitious and optimistic’ legislative agenda for the coming Parliamentary session.
The Scottish Secretary said: “Legislation outlined in the Queen’s Speech will mean we can finally get Brexit done, leave the EU on 31 January and forge a bright future for Scotland and the rest of the UK.
“We will take back control of our fishing waters, introduce a modern, fairer points-based immigration system. We will free our farmers from the bureaucratic Common Agricultural Policy, and move to a system that works for them. We will put the arguments and uncertainty behind us, agree the Prime Minister’s deal, and go on to strike ambitious trade deals around the world.
“Today, the Prime Minister has once again made clear his unwavering commitment to strengthening the Union and bringing all parts of our country together. People in Scotland are fed up with constant political wrangling and wasteful debate. That is why we will not support the First Minister’s plans for another unwanted referendum on separation.
“We will also take steps to improve the environment and keep the UK at the forefront of tackling climate change. The UK Government is bringing world leaders to Glasgow for the COP26 conference next year. It will showcase our advanced renewable sector, give a huge boost to the local economy and have a lasting legacy for our global environment.”
The Tories’ bright new dawn has now been universally welcomed, of course. Scotland’s First Minister yesterday outlined her alternative future for Scotland (see previous blog post) and the Queen’s Speech also came in for criticism from a number of organisations.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady criticised the Queen’s Speech for failing to live up to the promises made to working families during the election. She said: “Working people will want to check the small print before trusting this government’s promises.
“Ministers should be taking action to outlaw hated zero-hours contracts, which trap working families in poverty. And they should get wages rising by empowering workers to negotiate fair pay.
“We know that many in the cabinet are desperate to drive down labour standards. That’s why the government has launched another attack on the democratic right to strike to make it harder for working people to stand up for their rights.
“No more excuses – the new government must improve rights at work and get wages rising to help working families.”
Jonathan Carr-West, Chief Executive of the Local Government Information Unit said: “The big question about this UK government is whether it represents continuity or radical change. This was the most ambitious Queen’s Speech we have seen for some years, seeking to signal that the Government has ambitions beyond Brexit with a wide ranging domestic policy agenda.
“But most of the measures relating directly to local government, will be of only academic interest to Scottish councils as funding and social care are devolved and English devolution is, by definition, concerned only with England. On all these issues, local government in England is likely to feel that it is as far as ever from sustainable solutions.
“In Scotland, interest is likely to focus on the broader issues addressed in the Queen’s Speech, Brexit, climate change and a commitment to a constitutional review. Across all these areas, the stage seems set for a constitutional showdown between Westminster and Holyrood.
“It is clear that we are heading for a difficult period with a UK civil service trying to work with trust and integrity for two very different governments. The key rub will be how the Barnett consequential monies for the NHS and other services are used and applied. And where will that leave local government funding.
“It’s essential that local government and its partners be part of that conversation and that whatever constitutional settlement we end up with recognises the importance of autonomous, well-funded local government as a crucial vehicle for delivering on the hopes and aspirations of communities across Scotland.”
The UK Government today handed over the last of the powers which the Scotland Act 2016 transfers to the Scottish Parliament.
Scottish Secretary David Mundell welcomed the significant landmark which means Holyrood can now legislate in every area where the Scotland Act 2016 has given it power to do so – reinforcing its standing as ‘one of the most powerful devolved parliaments in the world’. Continue reading Mundell: “Devolution is working well”
