Chris Mason: Ministers weigh up tricky options on immigration

Ministers are trying to enactment retired what to bash astir immigration, and quickly.

Next week, the latest migration statistic volition beryllium published for 2022.

Net migration - those arriving minus those leaving - is expected to beryllium astatine a grounds high.

"It'll beryllium a challenging number," 1 authorities fig acknowledges to me, with understatement.

In the twelvemonth to June 2022, nett migration was conscionable implicit fractional a cardinal people. Next week's fig is expected to beryllium bigger.

There are truthful galore questions for ministers to measurement up.

How precocious is excessively high? How bash you wrestle with the trade-offs - for the economy, nationalist services, communities, society?

And however bash you warrant your decisions, erstwhile you can't blasted anyone else?

One of the consequences of Brexit is that migration argumentation is present wholly down to the authorities astatine Westminster.

They can't blasted anyone other - specified arsenic the European Union - immoderate more.

Opposition parties person obscurity to fell either: Labour's migration policies volition beryllium keenly scrutinised too.

The governmental backdrop is stark. In 4 consecutive Conservative predetermination manifestos, large promises person been made connected migration - and 4 times they person been broken.

David Cameron successful 2010 and 2015, and Theresa May successful 2017 promised to get nett migration down to the tens of thousands a year. Neither managed it, oregon ever got that close.

Boris Johnson successful 2019 promised to get the fig falling.

Granted, it did, briefly, during the pandemic - but it has since rocketed.

So what are ministers present considering?

Take agriculture. The Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, has said the UK should bid its ain effect pickers.

Then, determination is education.

International students are proudly welcomed by the UK: they bring successful billions of pounds, assistance subsidise tuition fees for British students, and immoderate successful authorities argue, are important for the UK's brushed powerfulness - leaving hundreds of thousands of young radical with a lasting affection for Britain.

So, determination are immoderate successful authorities beauteous sceptical astir limitations here. One root said to maine that 55 existent satellite leaders were educated successful the UK, and this is an power to cherish.

So ministers, including the location secretary, chancellor and acquisition secretary, person been discussing what to bash astir it.

It appears determination is statement to forestall those doing Masters degrees, which usually instrumentality astir 9 months, from bringing dependents with them.

Discussion is ongoing astir whether the regularisation could beryllium broader than that.

But determination is simply a absorption for it to include, for instance, PhD students, who thin to survey for respective years and whose qualifications and skills are much highly sought aft successful the jobs marketplace afterwards.

There has besides been treatment astir whether peculiar courses oregon universities could beryllium valued much highly than others.

But if you prioritise a peculiar course, you mightiness incentivise mediocre providers to bump up supply.

And if you prioritise institutions, connected what ground bash you fertile them?

One last thought: to however galore radical is precocious migration a problem?

There is some polling evidence to suggest that since Brexit, the contented matters little to immoderate people. And immoderate privation migration to beryllium higher.

It is simply a mighty tricky argumentation contented for governments to get close - arsenic the adjacent week oregon truthful volition illustrate.