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The latest Home Office business plan now says that reducing net migration will be the "anticipated" result of introducing the migrant cap "and other policies", rather than its direct outcome.
As far as student visas reforms are concerned – which the home secretary, Theresa May, has predicted will reduce net migration by up to 80,000 – the reduction in numbers is now only regarded as a "likely consequence".
This softening of language appears to deliberately prepare the ground should the net migration target be missed by the time of the next general election.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/may/1 ... ired-visas