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Armoured Vehicle Training Service
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. Ivor Caplin): I am pleased to announce that the landmark training consortium has been chosen as the intended preferred bidder for the Ministry of Defence's armoured vehicles training (AVTS).
The AVTS project aims to deliver live and synthetic armoured fighting vehicles training for Britain's armed forces through a private finance initiative (PFI). The service is planned to last for 30 years and covers training in the UK and Germany, as well as refresher training for troops deployed on operations.
In line with the Ministry of Defence's announcement yesterday, AVTS forms part of the policy to modernise defence outlined in the recent defence White Paper. The service will exploit new technologies and invest in a flexible and modern training service that will help our Armed Forces maintain the battle-winning professionalism they displayed recently in Iraq.
PFI offers the opportunity for enhanced training capability faster and cheaper than could be achieved through a conventional procurement. The MOD will now engage with landmark training to assess if a satisfactory, affordable, value for money deal is achievable. Final decisions will not take place until the negotiations have been satisfactorily concluded.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Managed Migration Review
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. David Blunkett): As part of the top to bottom review of immigration, the Government have already announced a number of measures to address abuses of the managed migration routes. This statement provides details of additional measures that we intend to bring forward. There will be further announcements in due course.
As part of this package, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills recently announced plans to establish a register of genuine education providers, by the end of the year. In the meantime we have continued our programme of visits to suspect colleges. To date we have visited 672: 178 (26 per cent.) were genuine; 195 (29 per cent.) were not; and 299 (45 per cent.) will require further investigation. All applications in respect of institutions found not to be genuine are now being refused.
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Further detailed work on student applications and routes of potential abuse have raised concerns about the large numbers of overseas nationals switching in-country to the student category, often for lower level courses.
I have therefore decided to prohibit switching into the student category for anything other than degree level courses. Visa nationals are already prohibited from switching: this will place non-visa nationals in a similar position.
Genuine students wishing to study on courses below degree level will therefore need to seek entry clearance overseas. Those who intend to study but have not finalised their arrangements may use the prospective student category.
A related problem has been identified with overseas students who take a succession of short courses at a low level and demonstrate no clear plan of study. I have therefore decided to reduce the overall time that may be spent on such short courses below degree level to a maximum of two years.
Arrangements are in hand to bring these changes in to effect from September.
I am also announcing changes that will restrict further the circumstances in which those admitted to the United Kingdom in a temporary category will be allowed to switch into employment routes.
My hon. Friend the Minister for Citizenship and Immigration announced on 19 May that those admitted under the sectors based scheme (SBS) and seasonal agricultural workers scheme (SAWS) would no longer be allowed to switch into work permit employment. I am now also making further changes to the immigration rules which will mean that only those who are present in the United Kingdom as work permit holders, graduated students, working holidaymakers, postgraduate doctors, dentists and trainee general practitioners may switch into the high skilled migrant programme (HSMP) and innovator categories. Switching from most temporary categories into work permit employment, HSMP and the innovator category will therefore only be allowed in exceptional circumstances. The changes will come into effect on 1 October 2004.
These measures will help to ensure that the separation of temporary and permanent migration routes, which is necessary to an effective immigration control, is preserved. It is also desirable that switching policy should be clear and transparent.
These measures will not prevent UK employers from recruiting overseas workers with skills that they need. It will simply mean that those currently in the UK in a temporary category will normally need to return to their country of residence and seek entry clearance to come to the UK for employment.
The Government is determined to ensure that the benefits of managed migration should be realised, as well as limiting the scope for abuse of the system.
Sir Gareth Roberts' review—"The Supply of People with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Skills''—highlighted the fact that the UK was suffering from a severe shortage of physical science, engineering and mathematics students at university and skilled workers in the labour market. He said that the shortage could do serious damage to the UK's future
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growth. In response, the Government have decided that students at UK universities graduating from specific physical science, engineering and mathematics courses should be permitted to stay in the UK for one year following their graduation to take up employment.
I am now announcing the detail of how the new science and engineering graduate scheme will work. The new scheme will be open to undergraduates (at 2:2 level and above), Masters and Doctors who have successfully completed a shortage physical science, engineering or mathematics course, as defined by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills. The eligible courses will be reviewed by the Department for Education and Skills on an annual basis. The list of eligible courses for the first year of this scheme is annexed to this statement.
We want to attract individuals with skills in these shortage areas to the UK. We expect that individuals who do not initially find employment in their chosen field will successfully find work in their sector within the one-year period of the scheme. If an individual can not meet the requirements for work permit employment, or can not meet the requirements to switch into another of our managed migration schemes, they will be required to leave the United Kingdom once their one year on the science and engineering graduate scheme is over.
We will be making the changes required to the Immigration Rules to implement this scheme in October. It will be open to this year's graduates.
Further to my statement on 17 June about Ken Sutton's report on the operation of the European Association Agreements in Romania and Bulgaria, work has been in hand in the UK and at posts overseas to implement the recommendations in Mr Button's report about the procedures and guidance which need to be in place to manage applications under the agreements, and the additional safeguards which need to be in place.
It is now our intention to resume consideration of initial applications, that is for entry clearance and in-country switching (which will be limited under Mr Sutton's recommendations) from 1 September and to resume a service on further leave to remain and indefinite leave to remain later in the year.
I am also today announcing changes to the current arrangements for Ministers of Religion. The Government is concerned that those who come to the United Kingdom to serve as ministers or religion should understand and respect the community in which they teach and work. I am therefore making changes that take account of consultations which were carried out in 2002 after publication of the White Paper (secure borders, safe haven) and discussions held during June and July this year with faith representatives. Under the changes we will be bringing into force, those seeking entry as a Minister of Religion will be required to demonstrate that they have a basic command of spoken English by providing an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) certificate at the "limited user" level (Level 4). We intend to raise the requirement to level 6 spoken and written English (competent user) after an interim period of two years. Missionaries, Members of Religious Orders (i.e. monks and nuns) and preachers visiting the UK on a religious tour will not be expected to undertake an English language test before entering the UK.
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I will shortly be laying before Parliament the proposed changes to the immigration rules that will allow the English language requirement to be introduced. I envisage the new requirement will come into force at the end of August.
For people with existing English skills—for example, those educated in an English speaking nation—discretion will be applied to allow entry where evidence is provided that an individual speaks competent English. These requirements will be set out in the immigration rules for all those seeking to enter the United Kingdom as a Minister of Religion as well as those switching in-country.
We are also amending the immigration rules formally to permit in-country switching to Minister of Religion status, with certain limitations. These include that the applicant is legally entitled to be in the United Kingdom as a student or through any other managed migration route; that they have been here not less than one year; and that appropriate evidence is provided of their suitability for the post. This provision will not apply to visitors or asylum-seekers. This was also in the White Paper, which specifically proposed allowing qualified people from overseas to switch their status in-country to fill local vacancies as Ministers of Religion.
During the second half of this year we will be launching a further round of consultations and meetings with faith communities about what further measures might be taken by the Government in collaboration with faith communities to ensure that the pastoral and religious needs of British congregations in a diverse and cohesive society are met. In particular, we will be consulting on whether there would be merit in introducing religious qualification requirements for those seeking admission as a Minister of Religion. Work will be undertaken with United Kingdom faith communities to identify what skills and qualifications a successful minister needs, with a view to developing standards or accredited qualifications that applicants for the Minister of Religion category must meet. We will look to faith communities to tell us what the requirements should be. In addition the Government is proposing to invite views on the proposal that at the point at which a Minister of Religion from abroad applies for an extension of stay, usually after their first year in this country, they should be asked to undergo an assessment of their civic knowledge and the level of their community engagement. We will therefore be consulting faith communities about the elements of such an assessment and arrangements for making training or tuition available.
Further announcements will be made in due course.
First Degree Graduates Course List
Principle Subject Heading HESA Code
Other Agricultural Subjects D9
Chemistry Fl
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Environmental Science and other physical sciences F9
Other Mathematical Sciences G9
Balanced combinations with Mathematical sciences excluding GZ
Balanced Combination with Engineering and Technology HZ
Other Architectural Studies K9
** Mathematics code G1 is not included in this list or the Post Graduate or PhD list as figure show that the number of graduated from this pure branch of mathematics are now increasing. However other variations of mathematics are declining such as statistics and other mathematical sciences and these principle subjects are therefore included on the course list**
Principal Subject Heading HESA Code
Other Agricultural Subjects D9
Balances Combination with Physical Sciences FZ
Other Mathematical Sciences G9
Balanced Combination with mathematical sciences GZ
Balanced Combination with Engineering and Technology HZ
Other Materials Technology J5
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Principal Subject Heading HESA Code
Balanced Combination with mathematical sciences GZ
Balanced Combination with Engineering and Technology HZ
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