Blunkett celebrates migrants' contribution to Britain

Effectively managed legal migration "is vital" to Britain's economic and social interests, the Home Secretary David Blunkett has said.

Legal migrants make up 8% of the UK's population but generate 10% of its gross domestic product, and the government has said that it wants to ensure a "balanced debate" to emphasise the "important contribution made by legal migrants".

He added: "No modern, successful country can afford to adopt an anti-immigration policy. It is in all our interests to harness the innovation, skills and productivity that new migrants can bring.

"If we are to achieve flexibility and sustainable growth, then legal migration, as opposed to clandestine working, must be the way forward."

Home Office research has shown that legal migrants contribute £2.5 billion more in taxes than they consume in services and have little or no adverse affect on the wages or employment levels of the existing population.

The primary route for economic migration to the UK is through the work permit system – employers must apply for a work permit for a specific vacancy and demonstrate they cannot fill the post with a domestic worker. In 2002, 136,000 work permits were granted, three times the number in 1997, and this year Work Permits UK expect to issue 175,000.

The Home Office has also announced that a new website, offering information about the rules and regulations for businesses and those who want to come to the UK to work legally, will go live next month.

Mr Blunkett said: "I am trying to steer a balanced course between these extremes. There must be controls and regulation. There must be rules which offer fair treatment to those who are fleeing persecution, but which are resistant to abuse, and which balance the rights of the individuals with the rights of society."

The Home Secretary said that there had been a series of big hits against people traffickers – saying that since April this year 20 criminal gangs have been disrupted, and 16 facilitators convicted.

(gmcg)