NOA poll finds most British outsourcers want to remain part of a reformed EU, but believe David Cameron could secure a much better deal with the Union.

73 percent of the UK outsourcing industry believe Britain should remain part of a reformed EU; 35 percent of those say the most significant reason to remain is “to preserve valuable outsourcing and trade relationships”; Of the 27 percent that opted to leave, over half say Britain should do so to ensure that the only government ruling Britain is one elected by the British people; 34 percent overall think a better deal could be secured to justify Britain’s EU membership

The National Outsourcing Association (NOA) has polled the British outsourcing industry to determine its feelings on “Brexit” – whether Britain should remain part of the European Union and why. Over 100 organisations, representing all sides of British outsourcing, participated and shared their views. The majority of respondents (73 percent) are in favour of Britain remaining part of a reformed EU, in order to preserve EU-based outsourcing relationships, protect British jobs and maintain Britain’s influence on the world stage. Sovereignty is the main concern for those that want Britain to leave the EU – they want Britain to regain control of its laws, to ensure that the only government ruling the country is one elected by the British people, and build stronger outsourcing agreements outside the EU.

Overall, 34 percent of those surveyed say a better deal with the European Union could be secured. 31 percent believe David Cameron’s “special status” deal is sufficient, while 17 percent think no sufficient deal can be secured by the UK government to justify Britain’s EU membership. Kerry Hallard, CEO of the NOA, affirmed that the UK outsourcing industry has spoken: “The views of the NOA membership reflect those of Britain’s outsourcing industry as a whole, the same views held by the C-suite at the likes of BT, HSBC, IBM, Serco and Unilever. We’re all for keeping Britain in a reformed EU, where we can continue to have influence and be seen globally as a key player – ‘Brexit’ would certainly diminish Britain’s appeal on the world stage.

“Outsourcing is a significant growth industry for the UK – currently the UK’s second largest employer – and one where we have every chance of taking a global leadership position. Exiting the EU would quickly diminish our role within the global business services industry, guaranteeing negative ramifications for the UK’s financial, legal and consultancy markets, as well as others. We are, however, pleased that the referendum is happening so quickly – we need to get through this period of uncertainty as quickly as possible.

“I was in India just a few weeks ago and had many conversations on this subject with key Indian players. They want and expect the UK to stay part of the EU. However, there was another key issue discussed and this was the potential impending caps on migration for Indian workers coming into the UK. It is wrong that the UK is restricting access to the skilled labour we so desperately need access to in order to grow, because we have no control over the mass unskilled migration we are suffering. Cameron needs to develop a better work around on this issue, rather the knee-jerk reaction that he is currently proposing.”