Government supports ‘controlled’ youth movement schemes, minister says

The Government supports “controlled schemes” which would allow young people to travel, a Foreign Office minister has said, amid speculation of a youth mobility deal with the European Union.

Ahead of the UK-EU summit next week, backbench Labour MPs pressed the Government to agree a youth mobility scheme, arguing “we owe it to our younger generation”.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives warned a scheme of this sort could “disadvantage young British workers” who are “already struggling”.

Speaking in the Commons, Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said: “We are taking serious action to reduce net migration, but we support controlled schemes that create opportunities for young people to experience different cultures, travel and work.”

The UK currently has youth mobility schemes in place with countries including Australia and Canada, which place a limit on the number of visas that can be issued and restrict those visas to two years.

During the Tories’ opposition day debate on the summit, Labour MP Tom Hayes called for a “capped, controlled, balanced youth mobility scheme” with the EU.

The Bournemouth East MP said: “Surely, we owe it to our younger generation to provide them with some of the conditions that will allow for a better life, and a capped, balanced, controlled youth mobility scheme is key to that.”

He added: “We are living in an insecure world. Britain’s soft power is so critical to ensuring that we are respected around the world.

“By bringing people to the UK and particularly to sunny Bournemouth for one to two weeks or four to six weeks before they go home, they get a sense of how wonderful, how open, how accepting we are as a country.”

Labour MP Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) said she had spent two years in France, as part of the Erasmus scheme, before adding: “I would really like to see, and the businesses in my constituency would like to see, a return to some kind of youth exchange scheme, that I managed to benefit from.”

The Liberal Democrats’ Europe spokesman James MacCleary said the party should sign the agreement to give young people greater opportunities.

He said: “The Government must immediately introduce a youth mobility scheme. Our young people deserve the same European opportunities previous generations, many represented in these benches, enjoyed themselves.

“The Tories’ obstinately refused this approach and Labour has so far flip-flopped on the issue. We have existing schemes with Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Canada, but not with our nearest neighbours.

“Our young people don’t deserve this short-sightedness, they deserve access to opportunities across Europe.”

Speaking from the frontbench, shadow business minister Andrew Griffith said: “The wrong type of youth mobility scheme would disadvantage young British workers, who are already – thanks to this Government – struggling to get their foot on the ladder for a job, again, unemployment up today, or able to secure a roof over their head in Britain’s housing market.

“And what part of the Government’s objective is to make it harder for our young people?”

Conservative former minister Sir John Hayes also warned against a youth mobility scheme, saying “young people across the entire continent will want to travel here”.

He told the Commons: “Whilst it may be understandable that people want to wax lyrical about young people being able to travel across the continent, what they say less enthusiastically, or perhaps they don’t say at all, is that young people across the entire continent will want to travel here.

“And until we know the terms of that, that could easily mean those people competing with Britons for scarce jobs.”

The MP for South Holland and The Deepings later added: “I don’t want people in my country to have to compete for education places, for training places, for other opportunities with a large number, and we could be talking about tens of thousands of people, entering the country by these means.

“And there will be suspicions that it is the beginning of a return to free movement.”

Earlier in the debate, Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said the Government will not reintroduce freedom of movement, the customs union or single market with the European Union.

He told MPs: “Driven by our ruthlessly pragmatic approach, next Monday’s UK/EU summit will be the first of annual summits between the UK and EU. It will be a day of delivery.

“Delivering on our manifesto, not returning to the customs union, single market or freedom of movement, or revisiting the arguments of 2016.”

He added: “Trade, security, defence and other areas of our relationship should never be treated as a zero-sum game. It is possible to deliver on all fronts and that is exactly what this Government is doing.

“So, I look forward to turning the page next week as we forge a new strategic partnership with our European friends, making Brexit work in the interests of the British people, we are stepping up and meeting the moment, making people safer, more secure and delivering growth. Delivering in our national interest, which is what this Government will do.”

MPs voted 104 to 402, majority 298 to reject the Conservatives’ motion which stated the Government should “put the national interest first and not to row back on Brexit, for example by re-introducing free movement through a EU youth mobility scheme”.

MPs also voted 321 to 102, majority 219 in support of the Prime Minister’s amendment which noted the “overwhelming mandate on which the Government was elected which included resetting the United Kingdom’s relationship with the European Union”.