IMMIGRATION inflames a lot of debate but the Government will need to balance its proposed cap on foreign workers.

As we report today, Oxford has a higher reliance than most of the country on foreign nationals, from the service industries through to medical research and academia.

Almost a quarter of the city’s workforce was born overseas, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The proposed cap would apply to highly-skilled migrants and skilled workers in certain categories of job.

We have spoken to the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust and Oxford University and both organisations, unsurprisingly, set great store by the foreign nationals on their payrolls.

In their realms, ideas from outside our borders stimulate innovation locally.

Any cap on migrants must have a quality element as well as regulating the quantity.

What is the benefit to the country if the 24,000 allowed in do not bring skills that we need?

And what happens if places like Oxford are left worse off, because the quota is already full, even if skilled workers are still needed here?