Immigration cap 'threat' to accountancy firms

SCOTLAND'S accountancy sector is suffering from the coalition government's immigration cap, according to one of the country's top practitioners.

Hywel Ball, managing partner for Ernst & Young in Scotland, has warned that the controversial limit is hampering firms' ability to recruit staff in the fields of oil and gas and financial services in particular.

It is also restricting E&Y's capacity to move accountants around within its global network of offices.

Speaking to Scotland on Sunday, Ball warned that the Scottish economy could suffer especially extreme effects from the cap, as its future is so dependent on exports and expansion into global markets.

"Scotland's future has got to be playing on a global stage, so anything that restricts that has to be looked at," Ball said.

A temporary limit of 24,100 work visas for non-EU citizens was announced in the summer but it will be replaced by a more permanent headcount in April. The policy has led to divisions within the Conservative-Lib Dem Cabinet, with Business Secretary Vince Cable admitting it could potentially do "huge damage" to the City.

In E&Y's Aberdeen office, Ball said the workforce was made up of 19 nationalities. He said it was a similar case in Edinburgh, where staff came from 16 countries.

"Both of those offices have particular tensions from a nationality cap," he said. "Anecdotally, all of the accountancy firms will feel this to a lesser or greater extent."