London will collapse without it's foreign-born workforce to keep the capital going. That's the warning from London's Chamber of Commerce and Industry which is calling for the creation of a so-called London visa to allow skilled employees to work in the city for a set time period. This comes amid concern that free movement of workers from the European Union will end once the UK implements Brexit, its departure from the EU, leaving many businesses struggling to find a qualified workforce. From London, Catherine Drew reports.
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A small number of staff from the company RiskEye meet in london…. The online security firm with two bases in Ireland hope to dramatically increase its presence in the British capital to answer a growing demand for its services. However there is concern that Brexit could derail those plans….. making it hard to both move and recruit staff between the UK and EU countries.
Sarah Holland, Head of Information Security at Riskeye, says something like a london visa is essential.
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"Absolutely critical, because if freedom of movement is restricted, we're in the business of having our specialist skills within Ireland, if that freedom of movement is restricted to bring that specialism into London or into the UK, then that hampers our growth and scaling up capability, so we might be at a critical point of scaling up the business but can't bring the skill in to enable that to happen."
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The London visa proposal could help ensure EU nationals currently working in London can stay in the short term… while longer term a London work permit could be developed to help recruit staff from countries outside the European Union as well.
It's the idea of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The group says a quarter of London's workforce, was born outside the country, a figure rises to 35 per cent in the construction industry. The business group is concerned inadequate visa reforms could cost London around 9 billion dollars in lost economic output by 2020 through the loss of both high and low skilled workers. Colin Stanbridge heads the London Chamber.
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"Of course it's about people with high-skills and specialist skills, but also it's about people who just keep this city going, the truth is, with 25 per cent of the workforce across the board being non-UK nationals, not born in the UK, if you were to lose even a fraction of that the effect on the city would be disastrous so we have to do something about it."
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Mr Stanbridge says the Chamber wants to start a discussion about filling these gaps and is open to other ideas, such as joining with other big cities who are also heavily reliant on foreign-born labour.
Some observers say cities coming together to issue their own visas could be more workable solution than giving London special status. David Collins in Professor of International Economic Law at City University London.
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It sounds very divisive in terms of politics, talk about a way of alienating the north. Perhaps if there was a big city visa like a Birmingham, Manchester arrangement, like an urban arrangement, maybe that would do it, but I can't see that working.
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Ending the unlimited immigration from EU countries was a key aim of Brexiteers, however regional breakdowns shows Londoners voted overwhelmingly against leaving the block and many in the city are determined to find a way of keeping the foreign workforce vital to the economy. As a global centre,, london businesses argue they are a special case and should be treated as such by the government or the city risks losing it's international status.
Catherine Drew, SOC, London