Asylum (First List of Safe Countries) (Amendment) Order 2006

My Lords, I shall reflect on what the noble Earl has said and if there are some relevant points of detail, I shall write to him and share that information with other noble Lords who have spoken. The arrangements regarding the Accession (Immigration and Worker Authorisation) Regulations are in the best interests of the United Kingdom because we believe that migration is of benefit to us economically. There is consensus on that issue. We need there to be confidence in the system that we respond properly to concerns raised by the public about the impact of these measures. If we did not do that, the public might expect more drastic action that would not be in the best interests of the UK. We are welcoming highly skilled migrants who will have free access to our labour market. We welcome skilled workers, too, but we need to be satisfied that they will not displace resident labour—and that is the explanation of the way that the order will work. We welcome low-skilled labour if we are satisfied that there is a real need for it and that there are insufficient workers from other EU states; and of course we welcome working students, provided that they operate within the rules. These proposals are in tune with our broader policies on immigration and migration where they are in the interests of the United Kingdom, but we act to control and tackle abuse. We must ensure that migration is used to strengthen our economy, but we need to balance that by paying attention to its social impact, sharing responsibility for migration with people such as employers who benefit from it, but also working with employers to ensure that they benefit from the new system. The noble Viscount, Lord Bridgeman, asked for an estimate of how many A2 nationals might come to the United Kingdom within the terms of the order. Perhaps with the benefit of hindsight, we believe that it would be inappropriate for the Government to make precise predictions. The number of skilled A2 workers who will come will depend on the skills gaps in the economy. As I made clear in my opening remarks, we will apply a quota of 19,750 A2 nationals who can access our schemes for lower-skilled migrants. For what it is worth, the 2001 census revealed that some 7,500 Romanians and 5,350 Bulgarians already lived in Britain and that suggests that we are entering a stage where we are right to have set out a more managed approach to issues of migration from accession states. The noble Viscount raised the issue of contractors. To ensure compliance, we intend to make workplace-based checks. Revenue and Customs will co-operate and assist us with that work. On low-skilled workers generally, the answer to the noble Viscount’s point is that, yes, they can leave and come back, but coming for six months in one year and six months in the following year would break the continuity of residence. I think that I have answered most of the points raised by noble Lords. If I have not, I will study Hansard closely, try to respond to their points in writing and share that information, as I usually do.