A LABOUR minister has demanded the SNP “build houses” to boost migration to Scotland.
Scotland Office minister Martin McCluskey, making his debut at the despatch box ahead of Wednesday’s Budget, ducked making a commitment to discussing a tailor-made immigration policy with the Scottish Government.
The minister said that the SNP should “build houses” in parts of Scotland in need of inward migration – suggesting a lack of housing was putting people from moving.
SNP MP Stephen Gethins raised comments made by Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie (below) who said that a Labour-run Home Office would be open to discussions on making allowances in UK migration policy to allow more people to move to Scotland from abroad.
The SNP have consistently argued that with a falling birthrate, Scotland needs more migration to grow its economy – which they say is at odds with UK Government policy to bring down immigration.
Gethins asked the minister whether the Scottish Secretary had met with the Home Office to discuss “encouraging more migration”.
He later added: “They have committed to working with the Scottish Government.
“[Scottish Labour MP Torcuil Crichton (above)] has talked about, when it comes to migration policy, no one size fits all and it shouldn’t be beyond us to devise ways to attract more people to work and settle here.
“So will he from those benches commit in what they’ve done that the Scottish and UK governments should work together and will he commit to a meeting between both those governments so we can take forward more migration to Scotland in the way they committed to and we committed to and business is crying out for?”
McCluskey replied: “We have committed to Scottish representation on the Migration Advisory Committee which would go a long way in order to deal with these issues but it’s also for the Scottish Government to do things like build houses in areas where we need more migration in order to encourage people to come to live in Scotland.”
