MAC recommendations May 2019

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) – an independent body which advises the UK government on immigration policy, made the following recommendations to the government yesterday:

• adding veterinarians, web designers and architects to the shortage occupation list (SOL) with the comment that the SOL ‘will cover around 9% of jobs in the labour market, compared to 1% in the previous list’*
• broadening the SOL to include all roles in occupations such as medical practitioners, nurses, programmers and software development professionals due to the difficulty in filling these jobs
• consideration of medium-skilled occupations to be added to the SOL
• pilots to explore what would work in migration policy in remote areas
• allow chefs to include takeaway services.

*on the face of it this seems to be quiet a jump to us – what it means in numbers is difficult to quantify but again does not appear to be insignificant.

Considering it has only been two months since the UK was supposed to leave the EU, the MAC is starting to prepare us for some liberalisation of the immigration rules relating to skilled work – whether that is question of sheer economics is another matter. It is of course worth noting that the number of EU nationals coming to the UK has dropped, particularly in relation to healthcare services.

What is becoming more obvious is that the UK is going to require skilled workers in other areas such as IT and architecture. The MAC envisages that further changes will need to be made to allow jobs in lower skilled jobs to also be included and that the concerns of regional areas to employment shortages perhaps with even lower skills - will have to be addressed.

The practical effect is that the UK is going to have to attract migrants from outside the EU to remain competitive – a hot potato given the political climate. To dress it in another way, it envisages that migrants will have to come from somewhere and perhaps not the EU. This is economical fundamentals and appears to be an indication just how much the UK needs overseas workers. One can only speculate what the implications to immigration policy will be once the UK actually leaves the EU and what it will mean if there is ‘no deal’.

Given the track record of the government to accept recommendations of the MAC, rest assured it seems that at least buying a takeaway curry or Chinese is not going to be a concern post Brexit!

We strongly recommend applicants to seek immigration advice and assistance through regulated advisors.

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