EAC: Govt must set limit to immigration

The government has been urged to set an explicit target for net immigration after a report found a high net level of immigration has "little or no" positive impact on the existing population.

The Lords economic affairs committee said the government's methodology of assessing immigration over emphasises the positive impact and ignores many negatives.

The government looks at the impact of immigration in terms of GDP, but the committee said it was "inevitable" this would rise if there is a high net level of immigration.

Instead it argued the impact should be judged by income per head of the population.

Measured in this way, the committee said immigration had a "largely neutral" economic effect.

Moreover, the economic wellbeing of some groups, notably the low-paid, actually falls when immigration is high.

The committee also raised further questions over the government's claim to the benefits of immigration.

It rejected the claim a high level of immigration is needed to prevent labour shortages, suggesting the government had been swayed by the arguments of employers seeking cheap overseas labour.

The report also said the argument immigration will defuse the "pensions time bomb" does not stand up to scrutiny, as migrants will also grow old and be eligible for pensions.

It further warned the government's assumed level of migration over the next 20 years will see house prices rise ten per cent higher than they would if there was no immigration.

To combat these concerns, the peers called on the government to set an explicit range for net immigration.

They said the government should review all immigration policies, including the new points based system, and explain the reasons for them and their objectives.

On a more general note, the report recommended the pension age be raised and said the government must do more to enforce the minimum wage and other employment conditions.