Conservatives unveil plan to double fee for British companies hiring skilled workers from outside the EU
Prime Minister Theresa May vows Conservative Election win would mean raising 'Skills Charge' to £2,000 per arriving employee, with the cash spent training up Brits
THERESA MAY will also pledge to toughen immigration controls in her manifesto.
The charge companies must pay to bring skilled workers in from outside the EU would be doubled under a Tory government.
The Skills Charge will be hiked to £2,000 per arriving employee, with the cash spent on training up Brits.
Non-EU migrants will also have to pay more to use the NHS.
The Immigration Skills Charge - levied on companies that employ migrants in skilled areas such as builders - was only introduced last month.
It is currently set at £1,000 per employee per year, with a reduced rate of £364 for small or charitable organisations.
The PM will also recommit to the Tories' long-standing target to bring net migration down to the tens of thousands.
It currently stands at 273,000 and was only last below 100,000 in 1997.
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George Osborne attacked the target as well as Mrs May for sticking to it in yesterday's Evening Standard, a London paper he now runs.
The ex-Chancellor, who Mrs May sacked, claimed that in private ministers were dismissive of the target believing it was unrealistic.
The Tories manifesto will also:
- USE the billions to guarantee any poorer OAPs with cash and assets of less than £100,000 will be exempt from care charges
- END the pension triple lock which guarantees a minimum annual rise in state pensions, to take on 'inter-generational unfairness'
- ABANDON a pledge not to raise National Insurance Contributions — but recommit the Tories to long-promised income tax cuts for basic and higher rate taxpayers.
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