23Apr 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Government must grant visa extension to allied health professionals

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats are supporting the call by the Royal College of Occupational Therapists in asking the Government to honour the contribution of all foreign born allied health professionals during the Covid-19 crisis by ensuring they are included in the Government’s auto-visa extension scheme. The majority of the 150,000 Allied Health Professions, such as occupational therapists, physiotherapists, radiographers and speech & language therapists, are currently excluded from the government’s auto-visa extension scheme. This scheme was meant to recognise the pressures on frontline staff from overseas, who are fighting to keep people safe from COVID-19. The Liberal Democrats are already leading a campaign to say “loudly and unequivocally, that those who have put their lives at risk for our country are welcome to live in it”. The party has secured cross-party…
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01Apr 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Migrant NHS “heroes” should be given indefinite leave to remain

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats have called for all foreign national NHS workers risking their lives during the Covid-19 pandemic to be awarded indefinite leave to remain. The call follows reports that doctors, nurses and paramedics will automatically have their visas extended, free of charge, for one year. Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Christine Jardine said: "The coronavirus crisis is an unprecedented threat and people are rightly worried. In times like this, we cannot thank front-line staff enough for going above and beyond to look after us all. “Extending the visas in the NHS is welcome, but the Government must also do so much more for the social care system and urgently rollout adequate PPE and testing. "There is a moral principle here. If someone is prepared to risk their life for…
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28Feb 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Dramatic rise in asylum seekers waiting to work

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats are calling for asylum seekers to be given the right to work, as new figures show a dramatic rise in the number who are still waiting for a decision on their claim months after applying. The statistics, published by the Home Office, show that at the end of 2019 29,218 people were waiting for an initial decision more than six months after lodging their asylum application. That represents a 76.5% increase since December 2018, and a six-fold increase since 2015. Asylum seekers are barred from working until they’ve been waiting for 12 months, and even then they are limited to the narrow list of jobs on the Government’s Shortage Occupation List. They are forced to rely on asylum support from the Government, worth just £37.75 per person per…
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