Immigration Cap - Terms of Reference

Call for written evidence

The Home Affairs Committee is today publishing terms of reference for its recently-announced inquiry into the cap on non-EU economic migration. The Committee will investigate the Government’s current proposals to cap migration through Tiers 1 and 2 of the points-based system by implementing a permanent limit.

In particular the inquiry will focus on: 

• The impact a cap on non-EU economic migration would have on the ability of UK business and industries to recruit the skills and staff they require;
• The numbers of skilled and non-skilled migrants likely to be affected by a cap on Tiers 1 and 2;
• The impact and effectiveness of a ‘first come, first served’ or a pool system for highly skilled migrants under Tier 1; and of a ‘first come, first served’, a pool, or an auction, system for skilled migrants under Tier 2;
•  Whether and how intra-company transfers should be included in a cap;
• The implications of merging the Resident Labour Market Test and Shortage Occupation Lists;
• Whether dependents should be included in the cap, and the effect of including them.

The Committee is seeking written submissions of no more than 2,500 words from interested parties, before it takes further oral evidence in September. Organisations and individuals interested in making written submissions are invited to do so by Friday 27th August 2010. 

Further Information: Written evidence should if possible be in Word or rich text format—not PDF format—and sent by e-mail. The use of colour and expensive-to-print material, e.g. photographs, should be avoided. The body of the e-mail must include a contact name, telephone number and postal address. The e-mail should also make clear who the submission is from.

Submissions must address the terms of reference. They should be in the format of a self-contained memorandum. Paragraphs should be numbered for ease of reference, and the document must include an executive summary. Further guidance on the submission of evidence.

Submissions should be original work, not previously published or circulated elsewhere, though previously published work can be referred to in a submission and submitted as supplementary material. Once submitted, your submission becomes the property of the Committee and no public use should be made of it unless you have first obtained permission from the Clerk of the Committee.

Please bear in mind that the Committee is not able to investigate individual cases.

The Committee normally, though not always, chooses to publish the written evidence it receives, either by printing the evidence, publishing it on the internet or making it publicly available through the Parliamentary Archives. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure; the Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence.

For data protection purposes, it would be helpful if individuals wishing to submit written evidence send their contact details in a covering letter or e-mail. You should be aware that there may be circumstances in which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The remit of the Home Affairs Committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Home Office and its associated public bodies.