Not unexpected given the current labour shortages
Quote:
Liz Truss to review visa schemes in bid to ease UK labour shortages
PM set to defy anti-immigration Conservative MPs by boosting intake in some industries
Liz Truss is to launch a big review of Britain’s visa system to tackle acute labour shortages in key industries in a move that was welcomed by business leaders.
The prime minister is set to defy some of her anti-immigration cabinet colleagues by making changes to the “shortage occupation list”, allowing certain industries to bring in more staff — such as broadband engineers — from overseas.
The review could also endorse a loosening of the requirement to speak English in some sectors to enable more foreign workers into the country.
Inclusion on the Home Office list allows migrants from outside the EU simpler entry to Britain owing to lower visa fees and a waiving of employers’ usual duty to prove that there is no suitable local worker for the role. In the longer term, migrants do not have to meet the £35,800 salary threshold required to settle in the UK after five years.
Allies of Truss said the new prime minister was committed to ensuring the UK would remain a world leader in attracting and retaining talented workers.
But her review of the immigration system is likely to run into opposition from some Brexiters in her cabinet, given anti-immigration sentiment was a key driver of the vote to leave the EU in 2016.
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https://www.ft.com/content/de5e54e2-...1-860f52d5d1e3