Member

That brings me back to the noble Lord, Lord Pannick. We in this House cannot legislate in a vacuum. We must be mindful of the serious concerns that people have about uncontrolled immigration and controlled migration. The fact is, as the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, well knows, that only 22% of the new migrants who came to this country in the four years to 2024 are in paid work. The vast majority are not working. They are dependants or students, or they are here on other schemes. Now, I accept that Ukraine and Hong Kong are part of that, but nevertheless, those figures are correct. There are 1.6 million new migrants to this country who are not in paid work. That is a matter of significant concern. Once those people—a tiny minority—tip over into criminality, we have a right to comment on that and design public policy on that.