Why Britain needs skilled migrants
SUMMARY
The government's review of the Tier 2 immigration system for skilled workers poses a real threat to the UK's digital economy.
For those of us who applaud David Cameron’s record on supporting technology and entrepreneurship, immigration has always been a slight conflict. But now further restrictions on the table look like a real threat to the digital economy, so please join Coadec’s campaign to#SaveSkilledMigration.
In May, the Prime Minister rightly argued that we need to do more to boost skills in the UK, but also called for ‘significantly reducing the level of economic migration from outside the EU.’
We now know at least how the government is thinking about doing this. They have asked the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) – a group of independent economists within the Home Office – to review the ‘Tier 2’ visa system for skilled workers.
The bar is already pretty high for Tier 2 visas. The applicant needs to have a degree level qualification, a definite job offer, and be paid a decent wage (eg for software developers they must earn >£31,100). The company hiring them also has to jump through hoops – advertising the job in the UK for 28 days first, and becoming accredited as a sponsor with the Home Office. There is also a cap on how many people can come in through this route, and in June 1,300 applicants were turned down.
https://www.thememo.com/2015/08/06/why-britain-needs-skilled-migrants/
Red Cross blasts Danish refugee benefit cuts
· Danish refugee NGO head: ‘Come to Denmark’ (04 Aug 15)
· Denmark considers sending refugees abroad (28 Jul 15)
· Denmark to run anti-refugee advertisements (24 Jul 15)
· Denmark declines to take part in migrant relocation (21 Jul 15)
The Danish branch of the Red Cross has warned that the government’s proposed cuts to the welfare benefits of asylum seekers will increase poverty and damage integration efforts.
Anders Ladekarl, the general secretary of the Danish Red Cross, said on Twitter that he has never before written an official hearing response as negative as the one he delivered to the Integration Ministry on Wednesday.
http://www.thelocal.dk/20150806/red-cross-blasts-denmarks-refugee-benefit-cuts
Illegal immigrants to UK face eviction without court order under new laws
Immigrants living in Britain illegally will face abrupt eviction from rental properties under new laws designed to make Britain a tougher place to live in, the government will announce as it redoubles its response to the Calais migrant crisis.
In a dramatic illustration of the warning directed at migrants, by the home secretary, Theresa May, that Britain’s “streets are not paved with gold”, the government will change the law to allow landlords to evict such immigrants without a court order.
Rogue landlords who fail to check the immigration status of tenants could be fined or imprisoned for up to five years under a new criminal offence to be included in a new immigration bill.
Greg Clark, the communities secretary, will also announce that the legislation will create a blacklist of persistent rogue landlords and letting agents to allow councils to know where to concentrate their enforcement action. “We are determined to crack down on rogue landlords,” said Clark.
The announcement by Clark, who will also announce new measures to prevent rogue landlords renting out sub-standard properties, comes as May and foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, prepare to take it turns chairing meetings of the government’s emergency Cobra committee in response to the Calais crisis.
Comment: Landlords and the immigration bill
Following the announcement from the government that private landlords will be expected to play a greater role in checking the immigration status of their tenants, Bob Mayho, principal policy officer for the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH), said:
We have fundamental reservations about the government’s new proposals and question why landlords are being asked do the job of the UK Border Agency in checking the immigration status of their tenants.
These proposals raise serious questions about the housing options of legal migrants and the knock-on impacts for hard-pressed local authorities. Migrants are disproportionately dependent on the private rented sector and are already more likely to be exploited by disreputable landlords, many of which are unknown to local authorities.
Furthermore, the proposals rely on a high degree of self-enforcement by landlords themselves and on ‘whistle blowing’. Landlords already have to comply with various requirements when they make a letting but many of these are poorly enforced because of the resource constraints on local authorities, alongside the rapid growth of the private rented sector.
http://www.24dash.com/news/housing/2015-08-03-Comment-Landlords-and-the-immigration-bill
UK ranks 14th out of 28 EU countries in accepting asylum seekers
Britain accepts fewer asylum seekers than many other European countries, figures reveal, amid growing pressure on the Government to resolve the Calais migrant crisis.
The UK ranked 14th out of 28 EU countries last year, according to per capita figures collected by the European Commission, approving 217 asylum requests per million population.
Sweden topped the table granting 3,388 approvals per million population, followed by Malta, at 3,016, and Cyprus, 1,434.
The top five was completed by Denmark, with 1,019, and Bulgaria, 975.
The UK's mid-table ranking comes despite continuing media attention on Calais, where thousands of migrants have attempted to breach fences to enter Britain.
Last year, the UK received a total of 31,945 applications
, the sixth highest figure across European countries. It approved around 44% of these.
Germany received the most, 202,815, followed by Sweden who received 81,325 and Italy, with 64,625.
The data also reveal one in 20 asylum applications made to the UK last year were from unaccompanied minors.
Unde-18s made 1,860 applications, up almost 47% from the number made in 2013
Comments
Post a Comment