Category Archives: News

Lansley facing vote of no confidence over radial NHS Reforms

Mr Lansley was also recently accused of having ‘no guts’ after his office declined an invitation to address a conference hosted by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in Liverpool. Rather than attend the conference he will instead hold a question and answer session with 60 nurses as part of the Governments listening exercise. Last […]

Italy given warning over issuing Schengen Visas to Tunisians

So far this year 25,000 Tunisians (who are considered ‘economic migrants’ rather than ‘asylum seekers’) have landed on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, with many more expected to make the trip in the near future. Tunisians have been leaving the country in great numbers following the ousting of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in […]

JobsMarket Survey show slower growth in March 2011

The Chief Executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), Kevin Green, said that “The jobs market is still growing but at a slower rate than in February. The report again highlights that the UK has a two-speed labour market with the private sector creating jobs as the public sector reduces employment. The good news […]

Massive Retail Sales drop could hit Contract offers

The Director General of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), Stephen Robertson, said that \”This is the worst drop in total sales since we first collected these figures in 1995. Non-food retailers were particularly hard-hit. This is strong evidence of the pressure customers and traders are under. This year\’s later Easter is a factor but this […]

HMRC Business Record Checks start early

The Deputy President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT), Anthony Thomas, said that “HMRC’s reassurance that this is a ‘test and learn’ pilot where no penalties will be levelled, other than in exceptional circumstances, is welcome. However they should have made this clear to tax advisers, business organisations and, above all, those taxpayers – […]

6,600 CoSs Unused Under Interim Cap

According to reports over the weekend a third of the interim limit went unused meaning that UK companies hired 6,600 fewer migrant workers than they could have. Under the Interim Limit Tier 2 licensed sponsors were given an allocation of Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) to use prior to the implementation of the permanent Immigration Cap. […]

REC meets BIS to discuss draft AWR Guidance

Speaking following the meeting the Head of Public Policy at the REC, Gillian Econopouly, said that \”This was an excellent opportunity to take stock and to take forward some of the initial feedback and comments we have already received from members.  The draft guidance already provides useful clarity on a number of areas such as […]

New IR35 Forum set up by the Government

The Managing Director of the Professional Contractors Group (PCG), John Brazier, said that \”It is vital that freelancers are properly represented at this juncture. We have been assured that far from being a \’talking shop\’ the new Forum will be a positive force for change. PCG has already put forward initial thoughts on how the […]

Would you like to ask Damian Green a question?

To email a question to Damian Green use the following email address; asktheminister@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk To send a message via Twitter use @ukhomeoffice and the hashtag #askdamiangreen Please note that not all questions will be able to be answered by Damian Green due to the expected volume of questions. The UK Border Agency, Home Office & Immigration […]

Permanent Immigration Cap Introduced

Under the new system employers will only be able to bring in 20,700 skilled or highly skilled people from outside of the European Union under Tier 2 (General) with a further 1,000 visas available for people of exceptional talent (e.g. Nobel Prize winners etc) under Tier 1. The Coalition Government hopes the new scheme, along […]