What’s wrong with Sheffield? Home Office struggles to recruit staff to cope with Brexit because workers don’t want to move to northern city which is the home of snooker, antiques and the Arctic Monkeys
The Home Office has a large visa processing centre in Sheffield
BRITAIN’S immigration system could grind to a halt - because no one wants to work in Sheffield where international visas are processed, according to reports.
Home Office bosses have apparently warned that they are struggling to recruit enough staff to cope with the demands of Brexit.
The department needs hundreds more workers to register EU citizens currently living in Britain, who will be allowed to stay after Brexit but must give their details to the Government.
At a recent conference on immigration, officials told lawyers that it was proving tricky to hire the 1,200 extra staff they want, .
One reason was the difficulty of “enticing staff to move to Sheffield, the city having been designated as the global processing centre”, bureaucrats said.
The post-industrial city in South Yorkshire hosts a major Home Office visa processing centre.
The Government department faces a vastly increased workload if it is to register all of the 3million Europeans living in Britain before we leave the EU in 2019.
Workers in Sheffield and the Home Office’s other regional centres earn between £23,000 and £27,000.
The Government has already hired 700 more immigration caseworkers and wants to find another 500 over the next six months, after demand from Europeans quadrupled in a year and a half.
Immigration lawyers are worried that will not be enough, because it will leave each employee handling the cases of 1,500 different EU citizens.
A spokesman for the Home Office insisted that recruitment in Liverpool - where European casework is handled - is thriving despite the problems in Sheffield.
The spokesman added: “UK Visas and Immigration continues to perform efficiently and to high standards despite increasing demand for visas and immigration documents thanks to the increased digitisation of our processes.”
Sheffield council defended the city today - a spokesman told The Sun: “How the Home Office appoints to these roles is their business, but our experience suggests that Sheffield is a highly popular city to live, work and study in.
“Our two universities are thriving and we have this year announced partnerships with Boeing, McLaren Automotive and Rolls-Royce that will bring thousands of highly-skilled jobs to the region.
“We frequently feature in polls as the happiest place to live in the UK given our abundance of green space and the Peak District on our doorstep.”
Sheffield was once known as the world’s centre of steelmaking before it was devastated by the decline of Britain’s manufacturing in the 1980s.
Now the city has bounced back and is known for its vibrant cultural life, with a host of popular museums and theatres.
It is also a Mecca for snooker fans because of the Crucible Theatre, where the sport’s World Championship takes place every year.
And Sheffield’s musical heritage has produced successful bands including Arctic Monkeys, Pulp, Def Leppard and the Human League.
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Civil servants' survival guide to Sheffield
Are you a civil servant who’s been forced to move to Sheffield? Never fear - The Sun presents your essential guide to surviving in the Steel City.
Best restaurant to put on expenses: Rafters offers a range of set menus (sorry, “experiences”), including a ten-course option at just £70 per head.
Best shop to help you wrap up warm: There’s a branch of Edinburgh Woollen Mill at Fox Valley, a shopping centre just outside town, where you can buy a coat to get you through the northern winter.
Best way to blow off steam: Ringinglow Archery, not far from Sheffield, trains people in how to use crossbows, tomahawks and throwing knives - perfect for the stressed public servant who needs to get it all out of their system.
Best place for a wild night out: Picture House Social, a basement bar in the city’s Antiques Quarter, is known for its ping-pong table and local DJs.
Best place for a REALLY wild night out: Sheffield’s branch of the notorious strip club Spearmint Rhino is only 15 minutes’ walk from the Home Office - but the truly adventurous must trek into the suburbs to visit La Chambre, the city’s only swingers’ club.