UK government not considering Scottish visa to attract migrants

The UK authorities is not considering a Scottish migration visa strategy to assistance pull overseas workers northbound of the border.

The SNP are seeking a alteration to the instrumentality to let Holyrood to found specified a scheme.

After the contented was raised astatine a Westminster statement connected Tuesday, Scottish Labour MP John Grady said Sir Keir Starmer's medication was "absolutely determined" to pull "talented people" to Scotland.

The UK authorities root told the BBC: "We are not astatine each considering a Scottish visa system."

A erstwhile connection from the Scottish authorities for a aviator strategy which would exempt definite businesses from UK rules connected hiring overseas workers was blocked by the erstwhile Conservative administration.

It is believed a abstracted Scottish strategy could beryllium acceptable up based connected antithetic taxation codes northbound of the border.

SNP MP Stephen Gethins volition array a measure connected Thursday seeking an amendment to the Scotland Act 1998 to alteration the Scottish authorities to acceptable up a Scottish visa.

He said it would let Holyrood to "tackle the Brexit-born unit shortages that person inflicted symptom and hardship upon our NHS and Scottish businesses".

The Arbroath and Broughty Ferry MP said the societal attraction assemblage was "crying retired for workers" and referenced effect being near to rot successful fields owed to shortages of agrarian workers.

He added: “We basal acceptable to enactment with the Labour authorities to marque this hap and the onus is present connected them to measurement up to the plate, but if they garbage past it’s lone close that Holyrood is fixed the powerfulness to instrumentality enactment and present a unsocial Scottish visa."

He raised the contented astatine a Westminster Hall statement connected Tuesday.

Scottish Labour MP John Grady replied that Scottish and UK Labour were “absolutely successful favour of bringing talented radical into Scotland” and that it was a question of "how you bash it".

He said: “As I recognize it, the location caput is perfectly determined that that takes place.”

The Glasgow East MP said the migration advisory committee - an autarkic nationalist assemblage that advises ministers - was looking astatine the contented "very carefully".

Immigration is cardinal to offsetting an ageing colonisation and falling commencement complaint successful Scotland.

The main operator of the country's colonisation maturation past year, which roseate astatine a faster complaint than astatine immoderate clip since the 1940s, was immigration.

However, deaths outnumbered births by the highest borderline connected record.

National Records of Scotland forecasts the colonisation volition commencement to autumn successful astir a decennary arsenic the spread betwixt births and deaths outweighs the fig of immigrants.

Scottish Labour's general predetermination manifesto pledged to betterment the UK migration advisory committee and to guarantee migration and skills policies “work for each portion of the UK”, portion ending “long-term reliance connected overseas workers successful immoderate parts of the economy”.

In the days starring up to July's vote, Scottish Labour lawman person Jackie Baillie told the Herald connected Sunday her enactment would look astatine ways to "incentivise" migrants to the UK to settee successful Scotland.

Days aft the election, Scottish Labour person Anas Sarwar was asked if helium would propulsion the premier curate for a chiseled migration strategy northbound of the border.

He told BBC Scotland's Sunday Show: “No. We person to person 1 UK borderline agency, of people we request 1 migration system.”

Sarwar said the 2 governments could enactment unneurotic to find solutions to “distinct” migration issues – specified arsenic filling labour shortages successful immoderate industries.

He besides highlighted the Fresh Talent Scheme, introduced by Tony Blair’s Labour authorities successful 2005.

It allowed planetary students astatine Scottish universities to proceed moving successful Scotland for up to 2 years aft they graduated, aft which they could use for different visas. The argumentation was scrapped by the UK authorities successful 2011.