Yousuf Miah: The system of student visas needs a complete overhaul

Yousuf Miah is a former Councillor and Cabinet Member on Northampton Borough Council who contested Burnley for the Conservatives in 2005.

Not so long ago, Labour Ministers were falling over themselves to tell us that they have closed nearly 150 “bogus” colleges. These colleges were found to be flouting immigration rules to the extreme in issuing paperwork to help people access visas for entry into Britain. The question Ministers have failed to answer so far is why they have only been condemned as “bogus” now. Isn’t that an admission of failure that the system of checking and issuing licences to the so called colleges has not worked in the first place?

I have written to Ministers on numerous occasions seeking answers about a system that seems unfair, immoral and unforgiving to many thousands of unsuspecting people who come here not to study but to work, often spending thousands of pounds to get here only to realise all too soon that things are far from the rosy picture presented to them by representatives of these colleges. Agents are employed by these “bogus” colleges in places to recruit “students” often charging them an initial fee and then equipping them with a letter from the college and bank statements at extra cost on top of the fees they are being asked to pay legitimately here in the UK.

Britain has issued over 80,000 visas to students mainly from the Asian sub-continent in the past couples of years. The vast majority of these “students” have been processed by third party, clearing companies who are drafted in help speed up the thousands of applications being received by the consular services. Unlike in the past where students have been interviewed by consular staff to ascertain the facts of their applications as well as their competencies in English, most are now simply issued with recommendations for a visa on the basis of them submitting proof of their ability to pay the fees and expenses and a letter from a UK college or university.

Yousuf Miah is a former Councillor and Cabinet Member on Northampton Borough Council who contested Burnley for the Conservatives in 2005.

Yousuf Miah: Child benefit should be dependent on the parents ensuring the child's attendance at school

Yousuf Miah is a former Councillor and Cabinet Member on Northampton Borough Council who contested Burnley for the Conservatives in 2005.

With the nation virtually bankrupt, we need to find savings at all levels of public finance. My policy, to link Child Benefit to school attendance, will not only make savings but instil a sense of responsibility on all parents and guardians.

According to the ONS, there are over 11.5 million children under 16, all eligible for Child Benefit starting from £20 for the first child. Payments to subsequent children vary between £11.50 and 17.50. The number receiving the benefit increases significantly if you include those up to the age of 19 years who are still in education. The total paid out annually exceeds £13 billion.

The system of child benefit awards has changed little since it was renamed form family allowance to Child Benefit in 1977. Every child has been entitled to the benefit regardless of how much their parents earn or how much they have in their bank accounts. It becomes an automatic entitlement as soon as a child is born and I definitely support the allowance.

However, I feel we are missing a trick here by not introducing some simple measures to make society a little more accountable. Since all children are expected to be at school until they are at least 16 years, I can’t see why we can’t tweak the system so that the school or the education authority administers the benefit and awards it in lieu at the end of each month, based on attendance. Parents and guardians will continue to receive the benefit in the normal way until the child starts school. From there on, the benefit would be paid to the parents/guardians but linked to the child’s school attendance until they are 16.