Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has praised the government's softening of immigration rules after he lobbied the Home Secretary.
Shabana Mahmood announced changes to immigration rules this week, increasing the period migrants must wait before becoming eligible for indefinite leave to remain from five years to 10 years, and even 15 years for some people. Pressure from within Labour, including criticism from MP Diane Abbott, the Mayor of London and senior ministers, saw the policy watered down to allow care workers to remain on their original five-year pathway, subject to conditions.
Khan's Response
Lord Khan joined the growing rebellion, saying that he did not favour "changing rules retrospectively" and called for a "compassionate" immigration policy.
Mahmood has now softened some of the new rules, meaning care workers and their dependants will wait just five years. Lord Khan told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "I welcome the changes the Home Secretary has made.
"We'll be assessing her announcement in terms of how it affects various sectors in London. It's important for me to recognise the movement there's been from them."
Impact on London
There is currently no dataset providing the number of individuals who have or may be eligible for ILR in London.
Estimates from City Hall based on 2021 Census figures suggest that there are 526,000 to 627,000 non-UK passport holders who could meet these conditions.
The same calculations claimed that the estimated total economic contribution these individuals make per annum ranges from around £50 billion to £61 billion.
Economic Concerns
A paper from the Greater London Authority's Economics Team earlier this year claimed a reduction in foreign workers could lead to "a return to skills shortages" with "significant implications for economic growth" in London and the rest of the UK. It added: "This would be concerning given the recent national and London-focussed milestones being set for key delivery programmes in policy areas such as housing and social care."
