UK Construction Skills Gap Could Be Helped With Temporary Visas Post-Brexit

A think tank has suggested temporary ‘brickie visas’ could help to deal with the UK construction skills gap in the wake of Brexit. This would grant EU nationals entry into the country after Brexit to fill jobs that would not otherwise qualify for a Tier 2-style work permit. The visa would be issued for a year, but could be extended up to a maximum of three. This would help businesses train local workers for unfulfilled roles. Migration Watch UK made the suggestion in a new report ‘EU Immigration, Post-Brexit – A Comprehensive Policy’. Read more on the pbctoday website.

Councils Not Recording Tenants' Nationalities

Over half of the new council housing lets in London do not record the nationality of the tenant, new research has revealed. The campaign group Migrationwatch UK found that one fifth of all social housing in London is occupied by foreign nationals, and that one third of the capital's new council lets are not even recorded in the Continuous Recording of Sales and Lettings (CORE) data.  Migrationwatch says that local authorities are failing in their legal duty to provide information on the nationality of the tenant, and that four London councils - owners of a quarter of the capital's council-owned stock - provided no information at all to central government.

MP Calls for End to Foreign Nationals Allocations 'Scandal'

A Labour MP has called on the Government to review who gets priority for social housing as new research reveals nearly half of new tenants in parts of the capital were foreign nationals. Birkenhead MP Frank Field, who led a review on poverty for the Coalition, said a new bill would ensure that those citizens who have made the most contribution to society would get priority for social housing. He called the new figures a “scandal”.  A new research paper, by campaign group Migration Watch UK, reveals that at least 11% of social housing lets in London were given to foreign nationals. In some boroughs, such as Ealing and Haringey, the number of new tenants from another country nears 50%.  Download a copy of the paper from the Migration Watch website.