PCG's FTV meeting on ice as Lord Rooker is shifted to Housing

A meeting between the Professional Contractors Group (PCG) and the Home Office Minister, Lord Rooker, about fast track visas (FTVs) was a victim of the recent Government re-shuffle when Lord Rooker was moved to be Minister for Housing hours before he was due to meet the Group.

Philip Ross, PCG Policy Advisor, and Gurdial Rai, PCG member and FTV campaigner, were due to meet with Lord Rooker, the former Asylum and Immigration Minister, following their recent submission of evidence of FTV abuses to him.

Mr Ross had also recently gone head-to-head with Lord Rooker over FTVs on the BBC's Today programme.

Mr Ross said: "We were ready to go, all of our papers were in order and with less than 24-hours to go, it got pulled. We would like to thank Lord Rooker for all of the work he did on fast track visas and for listening to us and our members. It is thanks to Lord Rooker that PCG is on the Skills Sector Panel. Being representatives on the Panel allows us to address Government and industry representatives involved with this issue directly, as well as assisting us in getting skills sets removed from the Work Permits UK shortage list.

"We look forward to engaging positively with his replacement and hope to hear back from the Home Office within the next couple of weeks with a new date to meet with her."

The contracting industry stands to be affected by other departmental re-shuffling, including the appointment of:

Beverley Hughes - Minister for Asylum and Immigration, Home Office (she was formerly the Parliamentary Under Secretary for the Home Office)

Mrs Hughes replaces Lord Rooker. Before her time at the Home Office she was first a member, then leader of Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council. She was appointed Vice Chair of the Personnel Committee in 1986. She was also a lecturer at Manchester University for the department of social policy and social work.

Mrs Hughes was elected Labour MP for Stretford & Urmston in 1997 and served as a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee until her appointment as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Hilary Armstrong, Minister of State for Local Government and Housing in July 1998. She was appointed Junior Minister in the Department of the Environment, Transport & the Regions in 1999.

and Lord Filkin - Junior Minister for Asylum and Immigration (he was previously a Lords Whip).

• Paul Boateng - Chief Secretary to the Treasury (he was formerly Financial Secretary to the Treasury)

  and Ruth Kelly - Financial Secretary to the Treasury (was Economic Secretary to the Treasury).

• Stephen Timms - Minister of Competitiveness and e-commerce (formerly Minister for Schools);

  Mr Timms, formerly of Ovum, the analyst group, and Logica, replaces Douglas Alexander, who has been promoted to Cabinet Office Minister. Mr Timms has previously served as the Honorary President of the Parliamentary Information Technology Committee (PITCOM).

  Leaving the Government:

• Angela Eagle - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Europe, Community and Race Equality at the Home Office.

  Miss Eagle answered Parliamentary Questions in the House regarding FTVs.

• Graham Stringer - Parliamentary Secretary - Cabinet Office.

  Mr Stringer wrote UKTECH's first ever Conference Paper entitled: 'Regulation as a necessary part of society'.

  The Paper received a very large response from UKTECH.com readers and his office was inundated with feedback from contractors.