Points don’t necessarily mean prizes

Immigration Minister Liam Byrne confirmed the final details of the UK’s point-based immigration system today.  The Australia-style scheme – first outlined in 2006 – will be rolled-out as of 29th February.

I was struck by Byrne’s claim that:

“The points system means only those migrants Britain needs can come to the UK”

Which jars a bit with his previous statement that:

“I am not the general secretary of a Soviet-style central planning system. I do not sit, together with my colleagues, in an office in the Home Office deciding what the needs of the British economy will be next year”

Surely, the Home Office using a points-based system to determine which migrants “Britain needs” is little more than a “central planning system”.  If so, it’s a dangerous approach.  Philip Legrain puts it best (describing a similiar point-based system propsed in America):

“But bureaucrats cannot possibly second-guess the requirements of millions of United States businesses, let alone how the fast-changing economy’s employment needs will evolve over time.