The British Pharmacological Society has signed an open letter sent by the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE) to the Prime Minister, Theresa May, calling on the government to take urgent action in revising current immigration policy to better attract international research and innovation talent.
The letter is supported by over 40 organisations from across business, universities, professional institutes, and research charities.
The letter points out that the UK's ability to attract talented people from overseas is being hampered by the cap on Tier 2 (General) visas, the main route for international skilled workers to enter the UK workplace. Due to the cap being reached in each of the last three months, hundreds of business-critical roles across the economy are going unfilled, and repeated visa rejections are damaging the UK's international appeal.
CaSE's letter today calls on the government to recognise that circumstances have significantly changed since the Tier 2 visa cap was introduced, and to exempt roles on the government's Shortage Occupation List and PhD-level roles from the cap.
Commenting on the letter, Jonathan Brüün, Chief Exectuive of the Society, said:
We need some joined up thinking from a government that has only recently highlighted the importance of the life sciences to the UK economy through its Sector Deal. To deliver on the objectives set by government, the life science sector needs to be able to attract the highly skilled researchers and innovators it needs, wherever they come from. Yet vital roles are going unfilled because those people are being shut out by a policy that is simply not fit for purpose.
We wholeheartedly support CaSE’s letter to the prime minister. We join them in urging the UK government to exempt roles on the Shortage Occupation List and PhD-level roles from the Tier 2 cap.
The letter and full list of signatories is
available on the CaSE website.