Brexit Made Simple – Issue 16, THE MIGRATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE (MAC) REPORT

What is the issue?

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has published its long-awaited report on a UK points-based immigration system and salary thresholds for migrant workers.

The independent body, which advises the Government on immigration, was asked in December 2018 by the then UK Prime Minister Theresa May to recommend changes to immigration arrangements with an emphasis on skills.

In June 2019, shortly before Boris Johnson entered 10 Downing Street, Home Secretary Sajid Javid (who is now Chancellor of the Exchequer) wrote to the MAC to formally request that they also work with businesses to examine salary levels for overseas workers.

One of Johnson’s promises in his campaign to become Conservative Party Leader and Prime Minister was to introduce a so-called “Australian-style points-based immigration system.”  Such a model would assign points across a range of categories to individuals from overseas wishing to work in the UK. Categories might include their duration of employment in a specific skilled sector and their ability to speak English. Following his appointment as Prime Minister, Johnson asked his new Home Secretary Priti Patel to write a further letter to the MAC requesting their views on how such a system might work. (Ms Patel, a hard right-winger, has proudly boasted of her determination to end free movement “once and for all” and cut immigration).

Yesterday’s MAC report was the culmination of all of this work.   

How does the current UK immigration system work?

As an EU member state, albeit only until 11pm this Friday (31 January), anyone from other EU countries - plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway - can live and work in the UK without a visa. (These arrangements will remain in place until the end of the post-Brexit transition period, currently due to finish on 31 December 2020 but with the possibility of extension).

People from outside the EU can apply for a range of visas, most of which are arranged into five “tiers.”

These include the Tier 1 visa for those of “exceptional talent.” Job offers are not required and the number is capped each year at 2,000. On Monday of this week, Boris Johnson announced that these would be replaced by a new “Global Talent” visa aimed at "world-class scientists and top researchers" with the numbers available doubled to 4,000.  This despite the previous annual target of 2,000 never having been reached.     

Tier 2 (General) visas are available to applicants who have been offered a skilled job with a minimum salary of ￡30,000 or if their profession is included on the Government’s Shortage Occupation List (SOL), which includes vets, nurses and engineers.  

What has the MAC report recommended?

It does not grant Boris Johnson’s wish of endorsing his favoured “Australian-style points-based system.” 

Instead, it recommends a mixture of arrangements which would centre on a minimum salary threshold for individuals coming to the UK with a job offer, and a points-based system for those arriving without a pre-arranged post.

The MAC says that the Government has "set too high a bar” for Tier 1 visas and advises that that more opportunities should be given to young applicants with career potential rather than those already firmly-established in their chosen profession.

It also argues that the current criteria for Tier 2 (General) visas is too strict. It recommends reducing the existing salary threshold from ￡30,000 to ￡25,600 to make it easier for teachers, skilled NHS workers and younger people in other professions to qualify.

Finally, the Committee advises the Government to introduce a new pilot visa to attract willing individuals to fill posts in more remote parts of the UK.   

Does the MAC have any other observations?

They certainly do, especially its outgoing chairman Alan Manning.

In the report, the MAC warns that there could be an increased strain on the UK’s social care system because of a shortage of low-skilled employees being allowed to work here.   

In a briefing for journalists yesterday morning, Professor Manning said that any new immigration system would require “unavoidable, difficult trade-offs.”

He continued: “The largest impacts will be in low-wage sectors and the Government needs to be clear about its plans for lower-skilled work migration.”

He observed that the UK did, in fact, have something “pretty close to an Australian points-based system from 2008 and the current system has evolved away from that because of perceived problems with it.”

How has the UK Government responded?

A spokesperson for Boris Johnson said the Government remains committed to introducing “a firmer and fairer points-based immigration system from 2021 that welcomes talent from around the world while reducing low-skilled migrants and bringing overall numbers down.”

He added: “We will carefully consider the report before setting out further details on the new system.”

And the other political parties?

Speaking for Labour, Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott warned that “even a lower salary cap won't help recruit the hospital staff we need, the social care workers or many of the new recruits to private businesses."

Christine Jardine, the Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson highlighted that the MAC report "makes clear these plans will make the crisis in social care even worse."  She added: “They will also mean huge amounts of extra costs and bureaucracy for thousands of British businesses. No amount of spin will change that fact."

What happens next?

The UK Government is expected to publish an Immigration White Paper in March which outline its plans in detail.

This will be followed by an Immigration Bill which will seek to enact these ideas into UK law.

The urgency of the situation has been underlined by the MAC itself which states in its report that, whatever Ministers ultimately decide, they must work quickly to get a system in place for post-Brexit immigration – which is due to begin in 2021.

Dr Jason Aldiss BEM

Managing Director, Eville & Jones

29 January 2020

You can follow me on Twitter @JasonAldiss