Today's Home Office related news includes coverage on funding for Operation Grange and a letter from the British Medical Association and Royal College of Nursing on the immigration skills charge.
Operation Grange
There is widespread print coverage of the Home Office giving a further £85,000 of special grant funding to the Metropolitan Police to cover operational costs in the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. The papers highlight how it will be ten years in May since three year-old Madeleine vanished from a holiday apartment in Portugal. Our statement on the funding for Operation Grange can be found below.
A Home Office spokesperson said:
Following an application from the Metropolitan Police for Special Grant funding, the Home Office has confirmed £85,000 in operational costs for Operation Grange for the period 1 April until September 2017.
As with all applications, the resources required are reviewed regularly and careful consideration is given before any new funding is allocated.
Immigration Skills Charge and NHS
The Times carries a joint letter to the Home Secretary from the British Medical Association and Royal College of Nursing which raises concerns that the Immigration Skills Charge will harm NHS finances by requiring NHS employers to pay £1,000 per non-EU national they hire.
Journalists interested in the Immigration Skills Charge should contact the Department for Education press office who lead on this policy.