Red tape to blame for City skills shortage: Demand for professionals stays strong but supply hampered by UK immigration rules July 7, 2015 Tough immigration rules and excessive regulatory standards has left City firms with severe skills shortages, according to new surveys. Growth in the number of jobs secured dropped to a two-year low in June, data released today by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation revealed. Demand for professional workers – which covers finance, law and IT among [...]
Some 150 migrants try to storm Calais Channel Tunnel terminal, delaying services July 4, 2015 Some 150 migrants have caused chaos for Channel Tunnel services, as they attempted to storm the terminal in Calais. The people entered restricted areas overnight, causing severe delays and cancelling trains, according to operator Eurotunnel. Read more: UK immigration: These charts show how net migration has increased, where migrants are coming from and why they migrate [...]
Cambridge head Sir Leszek Borysiewicz slams UK immigration policy July 3, 2015 The head of Cambridge University has slammed the government's inclusion of overseas students in the UK migration target as "ludicrous" and "crazy". "One of the biggest threats currently facing UK universities is the issue of international movement and controls on immigration," Sir Leszek Borysiewicz wrote in a pamphlet entitled A Story of Immigration, Students and Targets. "It is [...]
OECD: The more immigrants there are in an area, the better integrated they are July 2, 2015 As the UK prepares to vote over its membership of the European Union, immigration has become an increasingly potent issue. Read more: Ukip mapped: Nigel Farage most popular in areas with the fewest immigrants But although polls have shown migration to be one of voters’ main concerns, an OECD report on migration published today suggests that although immigration [...]
Migration pushes UK population up by 500,000 to a new record June 25, 2015 The population of the UK has hit a record high, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said, with the average age also reaching a new peak. The population at 30 June 2014 is estimated to have been 64,596,800, an increase of 491,100 or 0.77 per cent on the year before. Most of the increase [...]
Ageing population: The UK’s average age has reached an all-time high as population grows at an above-average rate June 25, 2015 The UK is older than it has ever been before. Figures published today show the average age of the population now stands at 40 – the highest ever estimated. In 1974, the average person was a mere puppy, aged 33.9 years. Wales has the oldest population within the union at 42.1 years, while Northern [...]
If we cap immigration, the UK will lose its status as a global hub for science and engineering June 15, 2015 John O’Keefe, the UK’s latest Nobel Prize winner, has a lot in common with Venki Ramakrishnan, the next President of the Royal Society. First, they are similarly brilliant scientists and Nobel Laureates. O’Keefe was a joint winner last year for his discovery of cells that act as our inner GPS system, enabling us to [...]
Business says PM is giving the wrong answer on immigration June 10, 2015 Business groups roundly rejected the Prime Minister’s latest proposals to cut migration, saying they were “not the answer,” “far less business-friendly” and a “red herring” in the immigration debate. Speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, David Cameron said that the independent Migration Advisory Committee (Mac) was looking at proposals to cut non-European work migration, including [...]
What was in the 2015 Queen’s Speech, bill-by-bill May 28, 2015 A full employment and welfare benefits bill aiming to create 2m more jobs and 3m more apprenticeships An enterprise bill to cut red tape and help small and medium-sized businesses resolve late payment disputes A personal tax allowance bill raising the personal allowance to £12,500 and linking future increases to the minimum wage A finance bill [...]
Queen’s Speech 2015: Here’s everything that was said about the EU referendum, employment, tax, the Human Rights Act and Scottish devolution May 27, 2015 The EU referendum is on; taxes will be locked in at current levels and strike laws are being reformed. The Queen's Speech has come to an end, and we have been presented with the legislation the government intends to pursue over the coming parliamentary session. While global cooperation, reducing the deficit and sticking to the [...]