Increase in the number of foreign workers in Britain

Britain is reporting that there has been an increase in the neighborhood of 300,000 foreign workers in the country over the last year.  These numbers are expected to rise today as the Home Office is set to release immigration statistics covering numerous areas.

MP James Clappison spoke about the increase: "This makes a mockery about Gordon Brown's pledge about the number of people in work in Britain today.  It also reflects the numbers of people who are given work permits to work in Britain from outside the EU.  These new arrivals will place further pressure on public services as well as housing, schools and hospitals."

Shadow Immigration Minister, Damien Green, commented "The Government's repeated claims that immigration is coming under control have been exploded time and again.   This is another example showing why we need an explicit annual limit on economic migration, which is what a Conservative Government would introduce.."

In response to public outcry over immigration a spokesperson for the Home Office said "We have listened to the public's concerns about immigration and we're now delivering the biggest shake-up to Britain's border security for 40 years. This includes an Australian-style points based system for workers, and new rules to ensure people earn their stay in the UK, learn English and play by our rules.

"Migrants contribute to the economy, putting more into the exchequer purse than they take out - they contributed £6 billion to the UK economy in 2006 alone.

"The Government will lock people to one identity by fingerprinting all visa applicants, introducing ID cards for foreign nationals, and using the latest technology to track people in and out of the country."

www.homeoffice.gov.uk