Yesterday, I went on Sky News to share my reaction to the headline news that net migration topped 906,000 last year.
I was asked, in part, because of the research we’ve undertaken on an important cohort of immigrants: the foreign-born founders of Britain’s fastest growing companies. This year we partnered with Fragomen to reveal that 39% of the fastest growing companies in the UK are started by an immigrant. This annual report serves as a reminder that immigrants are massively overrepresented when it comes to building Britain’s most impressive companies. We should celebrate this. Their openness to risk is Britain’s reward – evidenced by the jobs they create and the billions they pay in taxes.
But let’s step back from the apex. When it comes to broader business immigration, the Conservatives, after being relatively open post-Brexit, restricted immigration just before losing the election. This wasn’t just bad politics (at that point nobody cared and Labour now don’t need to do anything to see immigration decline), it will be bad for the economy. Oxford Migration Observatory estimates these changes will cost Britain £25 billion over ten years.
These restrictions are why immigration dropped by 20% in the 12 months to June, and why it now stands at 728,000. The last government also bumped up fees, with the health surcharge, for example, increasing from £624 to £1,035 per year in February. For a skilled worker to come to the UK for five years with their spouse and a dependent, the charges are now in the tens of thousands. Our fees are seven times those of Australia, twelve times Canada, and eighty-six times Germany. Yes, you read that right – eighty-six times!
Despite this, clearly public attitudes towards immigration have become more negative. However, if you dig a little deeper, the public is deeply conflicted. As Jonathan Thomas, Senior Fellow of the SMF, argues in a recent briefing paper: “A majority of the public may indicate a preference for lower numbers of immigrant workers into the UK overall, but often then struggle to name any particular sectors or roles where they would like to see this reduction happen in practice. In more recent times, despite increasing disquiet over overall immigration numbers in the UK, the sectors with by far the largest inflows and impact on those numbers – health and care – are exactly those where the public seem most relaxed and supportive of workers coming from overseas.”
Thomas recommends that the money raised through the Immigration Skills Charge is hypothecated to directly address skills gaps in the UK workforce, with billboards across the UK proclaiming the opportunities to access what would be a sizeable training pot. It sounds like the right approach to me.
I’m not here to make the case for every immigrant, but we all know businesses are crying out for talent. If we had the skills, mindset and work ethic in the domestic population Britain's businesses wouldn’t hesitate to snap them up. To be frank, the fact that the domestic workforce isn’t up to scratch is an ongoing government failure. After all, the government has a near-monopoly or is the main funder of the formal education most of us receive. While we have many ideas on how to address this, entrepreneurs growing businesses need talent immediately.
To be clear, I don’t doubt that there are parts of the system that could and should be tightened up. I back calls for more data on costs and benefits of the various routes. Nor do I doubt that there are complex challenges beyond the scope of business migration that need addressing. But we can’t lose sight of the fact that many of Britain’s best businesses are started by people born outside the UK; and all Britain’s most ambitious business owners – wherever they were born – need talent to compete internationally.
Task Masterminds
As many will already know, the Invest in Women Taskforce has exceeded its initial target of £250 million in capital raise for female founders. Barclays, M&G, the British Business Bank, Morgan Stanley, Visa Foundation, BGF and Aviva have committed capital to the ‘Invest in Women Taskforce’ investment pool.
A big congratulations to Hannah Bernard OBE, Head of Business Banking at Barclays and Serial entrepreneur Debbie Wosskow OBE for leading the charge. Now they’re looking for someone to manage the fund. So if you are a fund manager who can meet the objectives, visit the Taskforce’s website to find out more.
As a member of the Taskforce, I’m in awe of how quickly this has all happened – not least, given the political disruption of an election. If you scroll down you’ll see that we’re launching a report in the House of Lords with the Taskforce.
Butler’s Service
We have a new Adviser! Sarah-Jane Butler is an award-winning lawyer and serial entrepreneur. Along with fellow directors, she launched Farringford Legal in response to spotting a gap in the market for a new breed of law firm.
In her own words: “One of my personal ambitions is to make a meaningful impact on the entrepreneurial community by lending my voice and actions to campaigns that help SME businesses thrive in the UK.
“I admire how The Entrepreneurs Network has created an effective bridge between the business community and central Government. It ensures entrepreneurs have a platform to be heard and influence policy that fosters sustainable growth—a mission I strongly support.
“As a champion for female founders, I am particularly passionate about working with the Female Founders Forum. Their efforts to close the funding gap by encouraging investors to back female entrepreneurs align closely with my advocacy goals.”
Find out more about Sarah-Jane here, and learn more about becoming an Adviser here.
Waiting All Week
Small Business Saturday is back on 7 December. As I’m sure you know after years of amazing publicity, it’s an annual campaign to celebrate the nation’s fantastic 5.5 million small businesses.
The campaign is open to all small businesses across the UK, and it is completely free. Many team up to host events, offer promotions or simply use it as an opportunity to engage their customers.
A marketing pack is available from the Small Business Saturday website to help you get involved, and you can also register to be featured on the campaign’s Small Business Finder map.