Recruiters could be forced to put forward unemployed people on benefits as candidates for jobs, if the Conservatives come to power at the next general election.

Andrew Selous, the Conservatives shadow work and pensions secretary, told Recruiter that the party's policy of imposing an annual limit on the number of immigrants entering the UK, meant that recruiters would increasingly need to rely on those on benefits to fill vacancies.

"What they would need to do is when they run out of overseas workers, they should go along to the local Jobcentre and have a look at those people on benefits."

Selous said that the Conservatives would bring in tough new policies to force unemployed people into work. "If they turn down two jobs, which given their health and skills, they could reasonably be expected to do, then we will not pay benefits."

Selous conceded that recruiters found a ready supply of skilled and flexible workers from overseas attractive. However, he argued that with net immigration running at 190,000 a year the influx of migrant workers was damaging the job prospects of UK workers, as well as putting pressure on schools and hospitals. "Businesses are also paying more in taxes to keep these people on benefits," he added.

"The recruitment agencies should be using the pool of talent and skills available and living a couple of streets away. The tragedy is that we have so many people sitting around at home when with the right training support and mentoring and welfare system they would be able to fill those jobs. Why do they need to look to Australia, Turkey and New Zealand?"

Selous conceded that a Conservative government would only have the legal power to control immigrant numbers from outside the EU. However, he promised that any Tory administration would discuss the figure with the recruitment industry first.

However, Stuart Beeson, manager of Vital Recruitment in Wolverhampton which supplies agricultural workers, mainly Lithuanians and some Poles, has only taken on two British-born workers in the last three years and they only lasted one day.

He said he doubted the policy would be effective. "Somebody who has been on benefits is not going to like the job of working in a field and is not going to be reliable," said Beeson.