CaSE responds to home secretary remarks that a ‘fresh look’ will be taken on visa cap

The Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE) has responded to the comments made by the home secretary on the Andrew Marr show that he will take a ‘fresh look’ at the visa cap on the number of skilled workers entering the UK.

This response follows on from the publication of a Freedom of Information request that CaSE put towards the Home Office last month, asking for the number of Tier 2 (General) Certificates of Sponsorship that were refused due to the annual cap in each month between December 2017 and March 2018. The figures demonstrated that since December 2017, more than 6,000 applications had been refused by the government for skilled overseas workers who held a job offer as a result of the visa cap. Professions of those refused a via included engineers, tech professionals, doctors and teachers.

“A fresh look at immigration is what's needed, and I welcome the home secretary's candid and pragmatic approach. The Tier 2 cap is putting blocks in the way of engineering and tech in businesses across the economy, as well as medical roles in the NHS,” explained CaSEexecutive director Dr Sarah Main. “Since uncovering the data on the scale of visa refusals, I have heard from employers struggling with the cap. Let's not have another month when hundreds of business professionals, programmers, engineers and doctors are turned away from the UK.

“Employers have to advertise these jobs in the UK first and only if no-one suitable is found can they recruit globally. We must look to develop home-grown skills where there are gaps, but we must also welcome great people from around the world where they are needed and want to contribute to the UK.”