Construction firms have reacted with dismay to government proposals to make it harder for foreign workers to come to the UK.
Home Secretary James Cleverly this week announced his plans to tighten legal migration to the UK, with changes he claims would have stopped 300,000 people crossing the border last year.
From next spring, the government will increase the annual earnings threshold for overseas workers from £26,200 to £38,700. Ministers will also raise the minimum income required for people settled in the UK to bring their family members to join them.
He smartly pledged to end the salary cap discounts for certain occupations and replace the Shortage Occupation List with an Immigration Wage List that contains fewer occupations.
Meanwhile, the government will ask the Migration Advisory Committee to review the postgraduate visa route to ensure it works “in the best interests of the UK”. The annual immigration health surcharge will rise from £624 to £1,035.
Gary McIndoe, managing partner at Latitude Law, said CN: “In their press release, the Home Office offered few details, so we have to wait until the new year to know exactly how businesses will be affected.
“The government has indicated protection for certain sectors, particularly health and social care and jobs covered by national pay scales, such as teaching, but there is no guarantee of similar treatment for a sector of construction that continues to face a widespread labor shortage.”
However, Alasdair Reisner, chief executive of the Association of Civil Engineering Contractors, said: “We understand that the government’s migration announcements will have minimal impact on the sector as few firms had yet taken up options that were available with relatively recent system reforms.
“However, the government’s inability to maintain political stability in this area only reflects the experience of contractors on a wide range of issues.”
He said the industry is finding it “increasingly difficult” to have confidence in any decision he makes, with uncertainty set to worsen as the general election approaches.
UK chief executive Suzannah Nichol said the construction industry needed to recruit 45,000 people every year just to keep up production.
“The process of applying for a sponsor’s license has proven to be too costly and time-consuming for many companies in the industry, despite the recent addition of five construction occupations to the shortage occupation list,” he said. add.
“If industry is to drive economic growth and deliver on the government’s ambitious plans, it is vital that we have an immigration policy that is responsive and enables businesses to quickly address shortages around particular employment.”
Lobby group BusinessLDN, which includes construction industry giants Mace, Landsec and WSP, hit out at the latest crackdown.
BusinessLDN’s director of policy delivery, Mark Hilton, said: “At a time when businesses in London and across the country are struggling with acute skills shortages, raising the salary threshold at which workers from foreign would make it very difficult for companies to access talent.need to drive growth.
“The government should put economics ahead of politics by working with business to build an immigration system that is flexible, fair and responsive, while implementing long-term measures that help boost the national talent pool, like tuition fee reform.”
He cleverly said this week: “By leaving the EU, we gained control over who can come to the UK, but much more needs to be done to reduce these numbers so that British workers are not undercut and our public services are under less strain.
“I am taking decisive action to stop the dramatic increase in our work visa routes and crack down on those who seek to take advantage of our hospitality.”
