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t was a famous “no ifs, no buts” commitment. In April 2011, Prime Minister David Cameron pledged that “net migration to this country will be in the order of tens of thousands each


year, not the hundreds of thousands every year that we have seen over the last decade”. Fast forward to August 2015, when the Office for National


Statistics revealed that, over the year, net migration to the UK had reached an all-time record of 330,000. Simultaneously, an Ipsos/Mori opinion poll showed that the level of immigration had become the issue most concerning the British electorate, ahead of the economy, jobs, the health service and education. There was, though, another line in Mr Cameron’s speech


back in 2011 that remains largely forgotten. “Yes,” he said, “Britain will always be open to the best and brightest from around the world and those fleeing persecution.” The plight of the latter was at least partially addressed


in September, when the government opened Britain’s doors to 20,000 Syrian refugees over the next five years. Businesses across the land, however, have been left perplexed about how they might continue to attract the “best and brightest from around the world” when the government seems hell-bent on curbing their numbers as never before. Mr Cameron made it abundantly clear to parliament in the


summer that he planned to “significantly reduce” non-EU migration. “In the past, it has been frankly too easy for some businesses to bring in workers from overseas rather than to take the long-term decision to train our workforce here at home,” he told MPs.


The business case “The government has found itself between a rock and a hard


place,” says James Walters, director of Smith Stone Walters, specialists in UK immigration services. “On one hand, ministers are trying to honour their manifesto commitment to cut immigration; on the other, they know that, for the economy’s sake, UK businesses must be able to continue to attract the skills they need from around the world.” Ministers have now charged the independent group of academics


and economists on the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) with reporting by mid-December on how to curb the total of skilled migrants coming to Britain from outside the European Union on Tier 2 visas, including dependants and intra-company transfers (ICTs). Immigration Minister James Brokenshire insists action is


necessary because companies in the UK have become “over-reliant” on foreign skills. Simon Walker, director-general of the Institute of Directors, is


scathing about such attitudes. “Scrabbling around to find measures to hit a bizarre and unachievable migration target is no way to give British businesses the stable environment they need,” he says. “Combined with ministers’ increasingly strong rhetoric on immigration, the UK’s reputation as an open, competitive economy is under threat.” Many in business suspect Tier 2 migrants are being targeted


simply because they represent an easy political route towards announcing controls to cut immigration, despite the fact that such arrivals account for less than a tenth of the immigration total, even when dependent family members and ICTs are factored in. Yet for the first time over the summer, the Home


Office instigated a cap on all Tier 2 hirings because June’s total of 1,650 people had hit the monthly limit. The move sent shock waves through the business


c ommun i t y and left 1,329 would-be employees being prevented from relocating to the UK. Even before this, though, there were complaints that obtaining


Tier 2 visas was becoming increasingly difficult, not only for employees but also for employers seeking to obtain sponsorship licences from the Home Office. Apart from skills registered on the government’s Shortage


Occupation List (SOL), there is a general pool of Tier 2 applicants restricted to a maximum of 20,700 visas annually. Each applicant must be on a minimum salary of £20,800, though higher bands apply to different categories. No resident labour market test is needed for those earning above £155,300. The MAC has now been tasked with exploring the possibility of


increasing the salary threshold, reviewing the practice of allowances that top up ICTs’ salaries, restricting the occupations eligible for sponsorship, introducing a time limit on how long an occupation can remain on the SOL, implementing a skills levy on employers, and ending the automatic right of dependants to work in the UK.


Securing essential skills Sir David Metcalf, chairman of the MAC and emeritus professor


at the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, invited evidence from businesses and trade organisations by September. He received dozens of submissions over two months, most stressing the importance of being able to attract the “brightest and best” for the future growth of the economy. After considering the MAC’s recommendations, the government


will unveil plans for amending the Tier 2 regime early in 2016. But even by ordering a review of the visa rules, ministers have had an impact on UK businesses, according to Guy Levin, executive director of the Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec), which has launched a Save Skilled Migration campaign. “The proposals are already having a negative effect, increasing


the perception that the UK does not welcome foreign workers and is not an attractive proposition for anyone looking to start up a business here,” he says. The dilemma for the government, though, is that it needs to be seen to be doing something on immigration to appease the public mood, not least because the issue is poised to be the crucial one – rather than the future of the economy – in the in-out referendum on EU membership Mr Cameron has promised by the end of 2017. Tier 2 visas, as they affect only non-EU arrivals, might seem irrelevant to that, but


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