September 27, 2010
The government’s controversial immigration cap will be reviewed in London’s High Court following concerns on behalf of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and a number of small businesses. When the coalition government took the nation’s reigns in May, the Conservative contingent was keen to introduce a cap on the number of non-EU immigrants entering the UK following an influx during the Labour party’s years in power. The temporary cap is designed to cut the number of skilled workers coming to Britain under tiers one and two of the points-based system by 1,300 (5%) to 18,700 by next April. It was brought in as an interim measure while the cabinet thrashes out an agreement over how flexible the permanent cap should be when it is introduced next year. But criticism swiftly followed and intensified this week when Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable claimed the cap had caused “a lot of damage to British industry”. Now the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and supporting businesses have successfully filed for a judicial review of the cap claiming ministers sidestepped proper parliamentary approval before it was imposed on June 28th. "From the point of view of someone who is trying to run global product lines, they (non-EU workers) will simply regard the UK as a more difficult place to do business,” Malk Elborne, General Electrics National Executive for North Europe, said this week. “That is not just an inability to grow but it is damaging future long-term prospects. The UK simply has to stay competitive in an open, global market place."