The influx of poorly qualified people coming into Bradford each year for arranged or forced marriages is causing continuing cycles of poverty, according to an MP.

Keighley MP Ann Cryer told MPs more than 600 people each year were entering the district. She said her views were not Islamaphobia or racism but a real concern about the well-being of families and communities.

Earlier this month the Government confirmed a new points-based system aimed at restricting immigration to the UK to those with skills in demand will come into force next year.

Under the scheme, highly skilled workers will be allowed in the country without a job offer, while skilled workers will be permitted into the country if there is a shortage of their profession. Low skilled workers will have to have an offer of employment.

Students will have to prove they have a college place and funding, while temporary workers will have tighter restrictions on their rights of stay. Workers from the European Union, apart from Bulgaria and Romania, will face no restrictions.

Mrs Cryer said the Government must act over marriage as the points system would not impact on the hundreds of people entering and settling in the district.

She said: "Some people entering will be on compassionate grounds, being with a family member when they are old, but the bulk will be due to forced marriage - some of which would have taken place in Pakistan.

"It cannot be isolated - the problem will be repeating itself in Lancashire and other areas.

"We are pushing up standards for immigrants coming in to work but there is no requirements for marriage."

Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said Mrs Cryer had "bravely championed her position" in the Commons and beyond and accepted the Government needed to tighten up the marriage rules.

He said: "We have further reforms to make to the immigration rules on marriage. We must continue to bear down on forced marriage."

Dr Mohammed Ali, director of Bradford charity QED which helps newly-arrived immigrants, said: "Arranged marriages are quite common in some continents and people go to long lengths to make sure people and families are compatible. They have good intentions - they want to see their children happy. Forced marriages are not as common as some people make out and are frowned upon."

Dr Ali accepted employment was sometimes an obstacle. He said: "They are coming into the country but cannot get employment. This needs to be addressed."