Observations

172,000 work-related UK visas?

It may surprise many readers to learn that last year the UK was granting new work visas to foreign workers and dependants at the rate of 125,000 per annum, despite all the Covid restrictions on travel. In fact, in the last 12 months to this June (2021) the number is much higher, at 172,045.

Watching the news on TV, readers might be forgiven for thinking that the UK had closed its doors to foreign workers since Brexit, causing general misery and mayhem throughout the land. Facts4EU.Org's report today shows that not only are very significant numbers of new foreign workers still entering the UK and being employed, but these numbers are accelerating as the Covid restrictions on travel are lifting.

Facts4EU.Org expects the number of new foreign work-related visas to exceed 200,000 this year and it could be significantly higher. Some large businesses and industry bodies (often those which were always pro-EU) are complaining about labour shortages. If any questions are to be asked, it seems more reasonable to ask why we are still importing foreign workers in such numbers and why these companies are unable to recruit British workers instead.

Media coverage tends to focus on overall immigration numbers, but it can take much more effort to look at those coming to the country to work – either on temporary visas or longer. For comparison, the total number of all UK visas granted in the last 12 months to end-June 2021 was an astonishing 830,969 – despite Covid and despite Brexit. These include visas for family reasons and reunification, for study purposes, and for other reasons. As shown above those coming to work, including dependants, numbered 172,045.

Investing in key workers in key industries

No-one is suggesting that there are not shortages of key workers in the United Kingdom, but this is true of all EU countries. In certain activities in the UK this problem is acute, as in the case of HGV drivers for example, but many EU countries are also each short of tens of thousands of drivers. This is a problem that has been years in the making – long before Brexit or Covid.

It is certain that the enormous backlog of test and licence applications caused by industrial action and excessive bureaucracy at the official Government agencies (DVLA and DVSA) has added to the woes, but this can hardly be put at the door of Brexit. In addition, HGV drivers have been leaving the profession for years, for many reasons including poor working conditions, poor pay, and the recent changes in tax treatment of self-employed drivers.

Some large employers are now making great play of training new HGV drivers in the UK. There seems little doubt that far too little training of British drivers was done pre-Brexit, as the supply of cheap labour from the poorer countries of the EU was so plentiful.

There are many things to put right and improve in the country, why fight each other?

There are some employers organisations and trade bodies that were vociferously anti-Brexit prior to the Referendum and who have continued their anti-Brexit stance since then. They never seem to look at the positives and seem to wish to continue to justify their positions, despite any facts to the contrary. These people are able to get ample air-time on the BBC.

Fortunately there are newspapers that cover our reports and we hope that the report above will be of interest to them, as well as to our loyal readership.

Facts4EU.Org needs you today

We are a 'not for profit' team (we make a loss) and any donation goes towards the actual work, not plush London offices, lunch or taxi expenses, or other luxuries of some organisations.

We badly need more of our thousands of readers to donate. Could this be you, today? Maybe you've been thinking about it, but just haven't got around to doing it? If so, let us reassure you. It's quick and easy and we use two highly secure payment providers. And we do NOT ask you for further donations if you donate once - we just hope that you keep supporting us. Your donation stays anonymous unless you tell us otherwise.

Please don't assume that other people will keep us going - we don't receive enough to survive and we need your help today. Could you help us?

Most of our readers are well-informed and appreciate our fact-based articles, presented in a way you won't see anywhere else. If you value reports like the one above, please help our work with a donation. We have far more to do in researching, publishing, campaigning and lobbying Parliament than we have in terms of the financial resources to fulfil these tasks. We badly need funding to continue - we rely 100% on public donations from readers like you.

If you believe in a fully-free, independent, and sovereign United Kingdom, please make a donation now. It’s quick, secure, and confidential, and you can use one of the links below or you can use our Donations page here. You will receive a personal, friendly ‘thank you’ from a member of our team within 24 hours. Thank you for reading this.