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http://www.guardian.co.uk/immigration/s ... 78,00.html -


English tests to be part of a tougher new strategy on immigration


· Initiative will bar public services to illegal migrants
· Reid says policy not tough enough on benefits access

Patrick Wintour, political editor
Saturday February 24, 2007
The Guardian


Ministers are planning to extend compulsory English language tests to an extra 150,000 migrants who want to settle in the UK each year, under plans to be unveiled by the Home Office next week.
The initiative is part of a tough new government strategy that will also see new attempts to block illegal immigrants from having access to public services such as housing, benefits, and medical help, as well as to private services, such as banking.


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Handbooks will spell out for the first time that settlers and citizens have a duty to be involved in British civic life by taking part in juries and voluntary activity.
A fresh attack on illegal employment of migrants will also be announced.

Ministers intend to introduce a credit system for the 75,000 firms that annually apply for work permits to employ foreign workers. Firms that have a good record of not employing illegal migrants will be rated "reliable". And there will be closer inspection by 200 compliance officers of those that do not meet the standard.

Fines are also likely to be increased.

The home secretary, John Reid, admitted yesterday to "an underlying reality that we have not been tough enough in policing access to such services as council housing, legal aid or NHS care".

He promised "a package of measures that will shut down access to benefits and services for those that should not be here. Living here illegally should become ever more uncomfortable and ever more constrained".

The heart of the effort will be "a one stop shop" to which both private sector and public services officials can go to check if someone is a legal migrant.

The introduction of biometric ID cards, starting with newly arrived foreign nationals, will be central to the effectiveness of the one stop shop. At present there are more than 60 different forms of paper, or identity that can give someone an entitlement to public services .

Restrictions for children and those in emergency medical need will be limited.

The enforcement strategy, under preparation by the Home Office minister, Liam Byrne, for the past six months, is likely to be unveiled on Tuesday, the day the government is expected to reveal that overall in 2006 it has reached its target of deporting more illegal immigrants than new invalid claims were lodged.

The target, described as a tipping point by ministers, was set in a bid to reassure the public that it was succeeding in controlling Britain's borders.

But Mr Byrne yesterday acknowledged public concern over the past two years has moved from just asylum seekers to illegal immigration. He said: "We need to switch off the privileges of being in Britain if you are here illegally, and we need also much more concerted action to tackle exploitation of illegal migrants."

The additional English language tests will apply to those seeking the right to settle in Britain, a right available normally within between two and five years of arrival. At present language tests apply only to those seeking British citizenship.

Mr Reid admitted immigration remains a top concern of the British, conceding "a large majority don't think the British government has been open and honest about the scale of immigration to the UK".

He said Labour had to be clearer in spelling out that it did not believe in an open door, and was not neutral on the issue of immigration, but believed there can be too many immigrants in a given period. Endorsing a theme frequently raised by the Labour deputy leader candidate John Cruddas, he said a failure to manage unskilled immigration damages most the poor, including those on the minimum wage and working families tax credit. He warned: "If we on the progressive left do not address this issue, others on the far right will misuse it for the most evil of purposes."

Mr Byrne also confirmed that the government is considering tightening the rules on British nationals bringing in wives from abroad on visas, a major source of migration.