London: A top British Parliamentary panel has urged the government to cap the number of immigrants to the country as they have had "little or no impact on economic well being.

The report, which has torn to shreds the governments economic case for immigration, endorses the Conservative policy of capping immigration by urging ministers to set an "explicit target range" for numbers entering the country.

It also raises the possibility of slashing the number of family members allowed to settle in UK. The House of Lords committee, whose members include two former Conservative Chancellors of the Exchequer, seeks to rubbish the governments claim that record levels of immigration has boosted the economy, the Times daily of Britain said today.

"The argument put forward by the government that large-scale net immigration brings significant economic benefits for the UK is unconvincing. We have found no evidence to support their position," Lord Wakeham, the former Conservative Cabinet minister who chaired the Lords inquiry, was quoted as saying by the daily.

According to the report from the Lords Economic Affairs Committee, some groups, including the low-paid, young people seeking jobs and some ethnic minorities, may have suffered because of competition for work from immigrants willing to accept low wages and poor working conditions. The panel seeks to rebut arguments in favour of immigration, including the one that foreigners are needed to check labour shortages and also to help to support an increasingly ageing population, the Times said.

The report, based on evidence from dozens of officials, academics, business leaders and council chiefs is the most detailed analysis of the economic impact of immigration carried out in the past decade.

Source : PTI