UK to consider making it tougher for firms to hire foreign workers

[BIRMINGHAM, England] The British government will consider whether to make it more difficult for companies to hire foreign workers under a new consultation on controlling immigration set out by interior minister Amber Rudd on Tuesday.

Ms Rudd told the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, central England, that the government needed greater control on the numbers of people moving to Britain to maintain faith in the system and to make sure that local workers were not missing out on jobs.

"We will shortly be consulting on the next steps needed to control immigration," she said. "We will be looking across work and study routes. This will include examining whether we should tighten the test companies have to take before recruiting from abroad."

Ms Rudd said the test should ensure that people were moving to Britain to fill gaps in the labour market and "not taking jobs British people could do".

Immigration was a key factor behind Britain's vote to leave the European Union on June 23.

REUTERS