Migration Advisory Committee proposal to all but end low-skilled migration would be the biggest change to the UK labour market in a generation

The recommendations of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) report would, if accepted, effectively end low-skilled migration, and be the biggest change to the UK labour market in a generation, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday).

The Foundation’s welcomes the recommendations of the MAC report, which provides a much-needed evidence-based blueprint for a post-Brexit migration policy.

The Foundation says that the balanced proposals to abolish the cap on migration in areas of mid- and high- skill shortage occupations (Tier 2 visas), while ending free movement from EU countries, would effectively end low-skilled migration into the UK, with a possible exception for agriculture. This would represent a major challenge to migrant-reliant low-paying sectors such as food manufacturing, hotels and domestic personnel, where over a fifth of their workforce are EU migrants.

The Foundation says that abolishing the cap on Tier 2 visas and including more mid-skilled roles would also move the UK towards a needs-based migration system. Key sectors affected by this proposal include the electronics, automotive and construction industries, where one in ten workers are EU migrants. The Foundation notes however that 75 per cent of EU nationals working in the UK currently earn less than the £30,000 salary threshold that the MAC proposes retaining and extending to all new migrants.

The Foundation adds that expanding and uncapping the Tier 2 visa system could pose a serious challenge to the government’s target of reducing net migration down to the tens of thousands.

Stephen Clarke, Senior Economic Analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said:

“The Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendations would, if accepted by government, represent the biggest change to the UK labour market in a generation.

“If enacted these proposals would effectively end low-skilled migration, while prioritising mid- and high- skill migration in areas where we have labour shortages. This would represent a huge shift for low-paying sectors like food manufacturing, hotels and domestic personnel, where over one in five workers are migrants.

“While it will take some time for the government to respond to this report, it is time those sectors started to prepare more proactively for change, including by looking at the need to invest in new technology, and recruiting from harder to reach parts of the existing UK population.

“Today’s report should be welcomed as a serious attempt to bring together the evidence of the effect of migration on the UK economy, with concrete and balanced proposals for the UK’s future immigration regime. The government should now respond sooner rather than later to allow individuals, families and businesses to plan for what a new regime will look like.”