Liz Truss is allegedly attempting to bypass the home secretary in a bid to foreign workers rules, according to reports.
According to The Independent, business chiefs keen to recruit foreign workers have been told to lobby other departments instead of the Home Office.
Sources told the outlet that they were asked to consult business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg or Cabinet Office minister Nadhim Zahawi about the issue instead of Ms Braverman.
One senior business figure said: “We were told not to approach the Home Office but to state our case to Rees-Mogg. It’s extraordinary.
“It seems that Downing Street is already trying to bypass a home secretary who was appointed only a month ago.”
Businesses have allegedly been told to do so in order for No10 to eventually Ms Braverman who is supposed to be in charge of a review of the work of the visa system.
Last month the Financial Times reported that Ms Truss will look to make changes to the shortage occupation list in order to allow industries to bring more staff in. Some changes may be include relaxing the six-month limit on how long individuals are permitted to stay in the UK.
The prime minister may also lift the cap on foreign labourers working in season agriculture although No10 denied any measures would lead to an increase in net immigration.
In the first six months of this year, 26,481 visas were issued, some two-thirds of the annual limit.
The Prime Minister has reportedly told Cabinet ministers she wants the cap raised to 60,000 to stimulate economic growth.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper is among those claiming Ms Truss and Ms Braverman are “at loggerheads” over immigration policy and “much more”.
The split is “adding to the impossible chaos & confusion at the heart of this Tory Govt”, she tweeted.
Ms Braverman wants to keep immigration numbers tightly controlled and has floated a return to David Cameron’s target of getting annual net migration down to the tens of thousands.
But many of her Cabinet colleagues want to relax immigration rules, to help employers fill their near-record 1.2 million vacancies and to get the economy moving.
Ms Braverman told The Spectator: "I cannot believe that there are labour shortages that cannot be filled.
"We have a large cohort who can work but are not working - and they’re doing that out of choice in many cases. There are people who are choosing early retirement: the number of over-50s who are not working has considerably increased. I think that is a cohort that can be in gainful employment."
A government spokesperson declined to comment on suggestions of a split, but said: “The public rightly expects us to control immigration and ensure we have a system that works in the UK’s best interests.
“That’s why we have a points-based system, to ensure we have the skills and talent that we need to support and grow our economy while also encouraging businesses to invest in British people.”
