New immigration plans ‘could see workers exploited’

His comments come as a report published today states that allowing EU citizens to work freely in Scotland would not create a “back door” for illegal immigration to the rest of the UK.

The Scottish Futures research by Fragomen, a leading immigration law firm, was commissioned by the party’s Westminster group and provides eleven recommendations for how the current plans can be tweaked to improve the outcome for Scotland.

McDonald said the research “puts flesh on the bones” of what the Scottish Government has already stated could be the solution to the consequences of the new policy, due to start in January 2021.

He said: “This report backs up and provides flesh on the bones of what the Scottish Government has come up with.

“There is absolutely no issue about free movement of people carrying on in Scotland, as it does now. People can turn up, work and provide a passport of their EU driving licence and that will not have any implications for the rest of the UK.

“We have another open border with the Republic of Ireland, and we operate a common travel area. There is no reason why that can’t happen with Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom.”

The MP for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East added that the policy could create a “big danger” in terms of exploitation of workers.

He explained: “ The big danger and potential cause of illegal work and trafficking is if we have a system in place where demand for workers is not being met.

“That is the danger of what the UK government has announced in recent weeks.

“The demand for people to work in agriculture or lower paid jobs is not going to be met now. there will be people willing to fill that gap through trafficking or exploitation, illegal working.”

The Fragomen report states “any regional policy variations” on the government’s proposed system would not open a “back door for illegal immigration to other parts of the UK”.

It adds: “We reject arguments that free movement in Scotland, or perhaps any regional flexibilities, would create a back door to the wider UK labour market...The government is already relying on in-country controls to prevent any abuse, for instance right to work checks, whether relating to visa free travel from the US and elsewhere, or through the borderless common travel area with Ireland.

“The government could rely on those same checks for migrants moving from Scottish free movement to a UK immigration system. Concerns that this will create a back door do not stack up, when the UK’s front door is wide open.”

It also suggests lowering the £25,600 salary threshold for workers coming to Scotland, creating a separate Migration Advisory Committee,three-year post-study work visas and waiving the fees for NHS visa applications.

It comes after business leaders warned up to a fifth of Scottish firms may be forced to close under the plans, while others said they were completely unprepared and had no clue how they would recruit enough staff.

The agriculture, fishing, tourism and care sectors are thought to be worst affected by the proposals, as well as rural areas where, experts say, there are barely any jobs with salaries over the threshold required for a visa.

A Home Office spokesman said: “The UK Points-Based Immigration System makes sure that everyone working in this country can prove that they have the right to be in the UK. This will help to identify individuals being exploited and we remain absolutely committed disrupting criminal traffickers and unscrupulous employers.”Our new Points-Based Immigration System will work in the interests of the whole of the United Kingdom. The independent Migration Advisory Committee have recommended a single, less restrictive system to help attract the brightest and the best from around the globe. We will continue to work with stakeholders and industry in Scotland to ensure the new proposals work for all sectors.”