A leaked Home Office paper has been released showing government proposals aimed at cutting the numbers of low-skilled migrants from the EU following Brexit.
Under detailed proposals drawn up by Home Office officials and leaked to The Guardian, Britain will end Brussels' free movement of labour rules immediately after Brexit and introduce restrictions to deter all but highly-skilled EU workers.
Access to labour in industries without shortages may be curbed, it suggests.
“Put plainly, this means that, to be considered valuable to the country as a whole, immigration should benefit not just the migrants themselves but also make existing residents better off,” the paper says.
It proposes measures to drive down the number of lower-skilled EU migrants – offering them residency for a maximum of only two years.
Employers could also be forced to recruit British people to certain jobs, while access would be denied to immigrants wanting to work in some low-skilled sectors, the document suggests.
The leaked papers come as news that most people who voted leave in the referendum back the need for migrants to come to the UK to pick fruit and vegetables.
Leave voters understood the need for migrant labour to come to the UK to "pick the fruit and veg, build more houses and care for the elderly".
'Economic damage'
Indeed, the farming industry has frequently warned of "significant economic damage" if migration from the EU declines dramatically post-Brexit.
The number of seasonal workers coming to work on British farms has already dropped 17%, leaving farms 'critically short' of people to harvest fruit and veg, a survey by the NFU shows.
The survey, based on a total seasonal workforce of 80,000, shows that there is a current inability to recruit sufficient numbers to meet growers' needs during the busy harvesting season.
There were more than 1,500 unfilled vacancies on British farms in May alone.
This increasing lack of labour has led research to identify automation and robotics in horticulture having the possibility to help address concerns about availability and costs.
Identifying technologies that can help reduce labour costs and pressures for businesses will become "more critical", according to AHDB.
