A THINK tank has urged Westminster to exclude Scotland from its immigration targets in order to boost the population.
Centre-right think tank Reform Scotland is calling on the UK Government to create an exemption for people settling north of the Border, after changes were announced for overseas doctors.
Earlier this week, the Home Office said foreign doctors would be excluded from the cap on skilled migration, but the government has resisted calls to devolve immigration to Holyrood.
Now the Edinburgh-based policy body says the move should be repeated to address Scotland’s lower population growth. The number of births minus deaths is expected to go into negative numbers within the next 25 years.
In a paper released today, it said: “The UK Government’s policy of a net migration target also does not fit with Scotland’s needs.
“It would make sense for the UK Government to extend this relaxing of the rules to include people coming to Scotland.”
Director Chris Deerin said: “It is an unavoidable truth that Scotland needs immigration. Our old-age dependency rate is growing, and will grow at an even faster rate in the years ahead. We need to attract people to come and live and work in Scotland. We need to attract families. And we need policies that will encourage that immigration.
“The UK Government’s decision to create an exemption for NHS workers shows that the mechanism is there to do the same for Scotland.
“This is not a constitutional issue, nor a party-political one. Creating the conditions for more immigration to Scotland does not require devolution of immigration to the Scottish Parliament – it simply requires an acknowledgement from the UK Government that Scotland has a more acute requirement.”
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