MAC letter to the Home Secretary on the 2023 annual report (accessible)
Published 13 December 2023
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Migration Advisory Committee
2nd Floor Peel Building NE
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
13 December 2023
Dear Home Secretary,
I am pleased to inform you that we have published the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) Annual Report for 2023, a copy of which has been provided to your office.
The report builds on our review of the adult social care sector by outlining the increasing reliance by the sector on the immigration system via the Health and Care Worker (H&CW) visa, particularly for care workers. We explore the underlying workforce issues which are responsible for this continued reliance, the exploitation of care workers and lack of funding within the sector, as well as outlining a range of policy options for Government to consider, some of which were adopted in your 4 December statement to Parliament.
We provide a discussion on net migration given the recent significant recent rise and public interest, with analysis of the changing composition of those coming to the UK particularly since the 2016 referendum on EU membership, the visa routes that migrants are using, the potential impacts of net migration on the country as a whole and the likely reduction in net migration that can be achieved with some selected policy levers.
We have also examined the growth in the numbers of international students choosing to study in the UK, providing key statistics and commentary on student routes, courses, locations and accompanying dependants. We feel this is a timely analysis given restrictions limiting the number of student dependants coming into force from January 2024.
Alongside the Annual Report is an associated Annual Governance Report, providing transparency of the MAC’s spending, engagement, and published research and analysis.
In October we published a major review of the Shortage Occupation List (SOL), in which we made recommendations relating to the role of the SOL in the immigration system and highlighted concerns about the risk of exploitation in low-wage roles. We provided an alternative approach where the MAC could instead examine individual occupations or sectors with acute labour market issues, to consider the extent to which migration policy may or may not be part of the solution within the wider context of wages, terms and conditions, training and investment, to assess a sustainable response to the problems.
We note your announcement of 4 December 2023 of a broad package of measures on migration including changes to the Skilled Worker route salary thresholds and a reformed SOL. The MAC looks forward to receiving commissions from you on the Immigration Salary List and the Graduate Visa Route, to ensure they work in the best interests of the UK.
We look forward in the coming year to continue advising the Government on the development of an immigration policy that enhances the welfare of the people of the United Kingdom.
On behalf of the Migration Advisory Committee,
Yours sincerely,
Professor Brian Bell, Chair, Migration Advisory Committee
cc:
Tom Pursglove MP, Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery
Matthew Rycroft, Permanent Secretary
Simon Ridley, Second Permanent Secretary
Daniel Hobbs, Director General Migration and Borders Group