John Mason staff have raised over £370 for Children In Need through various fundraising endeavours which took place throughout the day including a car wash, competitions, a raffle and bacon sandwiches! Many of the staff brought in baby photographs of themselves for the ‘Guess the Youngster’ competition. This activity was particularly popular, possibly because the John Mason management team were very generous in donating an extra day’s holiday to the winner!

Children in Need is a worthy cause which John Mason support every year. Special thanks to the John Mason Charity Committee for organising the day and for helping to raise such a fantastic amount.

The latest United Nations (UN) Human Development Report: Overcoming Barriers: Human Mobility and Development, has stated that migration is a force for good and can improve the freedom of people all over the world. The report states that being able to decide where to live is an important factor with regard to human freedom. The report also affirmed that migration can raise a person’s health, income and education opportunities.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark said: ‘migration can be a force for good, contributing significantly to human development but to realise its benefits, there needs to be a supportive policy environment as this report suggests’. 

The report also highlighted the downside of migration, mentioning that in a lot of cases migration can cause family separation and financial risk.

The Human Development Reports are part of a series of publications with the aim of providing a framework for debate on issues effecting humanity such as climate change, human rights and migration.

A new citizenship study guide has been launched by the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration in Canada. It is hoped that the new guide will help migrants to understand Canada and Canadian culture and values as well as serving as a study tool for the Canadian Citizenship Test. The new publication will be entitled ‘Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship’.

Minister Kenney, Minister for Citizenship and Immigration said: ‘people come from all over the world to seek Canadian citizenship. It is highly valued. We expect people who want to become Canadians to have a good understanding of their rights and responsibilities, and the values and institutions that are rooted in Canada’s history. By strengthening the guide, we are increasing the value of Canadian citizenship’. 

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) consulted a panel of historians, politicians and notable Canadians to compile the guide along with other organisations. The guide replaces the previous publication ‘A look at Canada’ although this is still available on the CIC website.

The new US security protocol for international trade, Importer Security Filing (ISF), more commonly known as the ’10 plus 2 rule’ will be enforced on the 26^th January 2010. The new security measure has been in existence since the 26^th January of this year but will not be enforced until next year. This is due to the phasing out approach taken by the Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) to allow importers to adjust filing systems and upgrade their IT systems in order to accommodate and comply with the changes. Currently, importers receive a warning for non-compliance whereas next year, importers could receive fines of up to 5000 USD.

The 10 plus 2 rule means that all cargo heading to the US must be registered with the CBP at least 24 hours before the goods are loaded onto the vessel i.e. before vessel departure. Ten data elements will be required, including information such as contact details for supplier, seller, buyer, consolidator and consignee and commodity tariff codes. The carrier will also be required to provide additional information to the agency such as Vessel Stow Plan and Container Status Reports. The importer will be responsible for filing the information although this may be done be a freight forwarder or port agent / broker.

The new measures and associated penalties are part of the SAFE Port Act 2006 (Security and Accountability for Every Port Act). The United States CBP states that the new regulations have been introduced in order to improve security and efficiency in International Trade.

In a recent report, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has recommended several new occupations to add to the UK Shortage Occupations List. The new recommended additions include: teachers for specialist schools, meat boners and trimmers, aircraft technicians, speciality paediatric trainees and electricity transmission workers. The report will be considered by government officials over the next few weeks.

Professor David Metcalf CBE, chairman of MAC, stated: ‘The Migration Advisory Committee’s latest recommendations take account of the impact of the worldwide recession on the UK. We have looked at the evidence and made recommendations that balance the needs of the UK workforce against those of employers. It is important to note that some shortages of skilled labour will still exist in a recession. This can be where there is a long-term structural shortage of skilled workers, where workers provide key public services, or in areas such as culture where the UK needs to maintain global leadership.’