UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has unveiled plans for a new skills quango to "turn the page" on Britain's reliance on foreign labour, writes Jason Groves.

The Prime Minister said the new 'Skills England' agency would help plug gaps in the economy which are currently filled by migrant workers.

Launching the scheme at the Farnborough Air Show in Hampshire yesterday, he said he would not "diminish the contribution" of migrant workers or criticise firms who hire them.

But he said the failure to train up British workers had "created an over-reliance on higher and higher levels of migration" and he pledged to "fire up the training of more UK workers".

Skills minister Jacqui Smith said the initiative would involve better use of existing funds rather than an injection of new cash.

The agency will work with employers, unions, colleges and the Migration Advisory Committee to identify areas where more skilled workers are needed, including in the construction and healthcare sectors.

It will identify areas where funds earmarked for apprenticeships can be diverted to more flexible forms of training.

The move follows criticism of the existing Apprenticeship Levy. More than £2bn of cash raised by the levy since 2017 has gone unspent.

Under the new "growth and skills levy", employers will have more freedom to use the money for training staff.

Starmer described the current skills system as a "mess" and predicted the plan could eventually help fill half a million job vacancies.

He added: "Migration is part of our national story. And yet, it cannot be right that some people don't get to feel the pride of making a contribution, just because we can't find a way of creating a coherent skills system."

Photo: Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer addresses visitors to open the Farnborough International Airshow. (Photo by Alberto Pezzali - WPA Pool/Getty Images)