Foreign secretary Dominic Raab is on Marr, talking about Conservative plans on immigration – some of which have been set out this morning.
Asked about the previous target of getting immigration down to 10s of thousands, Raab says that – speaking as the son of a refugee – he thinks that immigration can be very beneficial, but that people coming to the UK should have to wait five years before they can claim benefits and that they should pay into the NHS.
His party has said that the “vast majority” of migrants will need a job offer to come to the UK to work if they form the next government, regardless of where they are from in the world. They say there will be a small number of exceptions, including high-skilled scientists and those who want to come to the UK to start a business.
Asked what groups of migrant workers the party wanted fewer of in the UK, Raab said he didn’t want to stigmatise groups. He said he wanted to invest in innovation so that the UK was more productive and he wanted to reduce the need for cheap labour from abroad.
The Conservatives have pledged that access to benefits will be equalised between EU nationals and those from the rest of the world, meaning non-UK citizens will typically need to wait five years before they are able to claim benefits. Under current rules, EU migrants can access welfare and services after being in the UK for three months.
The party said it would put an end to the practice of child benefit being sent abroad to support children who do not live in the UK and that it would increase the immigration health surcharge from £400 to £625. They said the change will raise more than £500m a year.
The surcharge was introduced in 2015 in a clampdown on so-called “health tourism”, and has previously been doubled from £200 to £400.
