Transparency data

Migration Advisory Committee minutes, 10 July 2020

Published 28 July 2021

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130th meeting of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC)

Friday 10th July 2020 11am to 13:30pm

Video / Telephone Conference

Attending:

  • Professor Brian Bell
  • Dr Jennifer Smith
  • Professor Jo Swaffield
  • Professor Jackline Wahba
  • Madeleine Sumption
  • Paul Regan
  • MAC Secretariat

Agenda item 1 – Welcome

1. Brian Bell opened the meeting, welcoming a new member of staff to the secretariat. It was agreed that the minutes from the June meeting would be redrafted in a more formal style.

Agenda item 2 – Home Office, MAC secretariat and MAC updates

2. Paul Regan provided an update on Home Office business. Including:

  • The date for an updated policy statement regarding the points-based system and rules surrounding the salary threshold to be published.
  • Confirmation that the intent is still for the new immigration system to be implemented on January 1st 2021.
  • HO engagement activity continues with internal and external stakeholders regarding the future system.
  • The Immigration Bill has now passed through the House of Commons and will now proceed through the House of Lords.
  • There has been significant amount of work in relation to the issue of British nationals overseas.
  • The adverts for the three roles of future members of the MAC are now closed.

3. Toy Nutley provided an update on secretariat business:

  • The MAC will publish a paper on salary thresholds to coincide with the updated policy statement mentioned by Paul Regan.
  • There has been a significant amount of interest in joining the MAC and sifting of the candidates will start soon.
  • Toby and Brian had a productive introductory meeting with John Aston, the Home Office Chief Scientific Advisor and plan to continue regular discussions.
  • With a significant amount of change taking place in the secretariat it was agreed that an organogram would be produced for the next meeting to update the committee.

4. Brian Bell gave an update on meetings he has attended since the previous MAC meeting:

  • He had a final stakeholder engagement regarding the current commission with the Food and Drink Federation.
  • He updated the MAC on his appearance in front of the Home Affairs Select Committee.
  • He provided his impressions from the meeting with John Aston.

Agenda item 3 – Call for Evidence update

5. The secretariat and committee discussed the initial very high-level review of the responses to the call for evidence. It was agreed to include analysis of those responses that were not completed on the system, but not to ascribe them to specific stakeholders.

Agenda item 4 – Timing and plans for agreeing occupational recommendations

6. The secretariat and committee discussed the timeline for processing occupation groups to ensure the report deadline was met.

Agenda item 5 – Treatment of borderline occupations

7. The secretariat and committee discussed the policy statement that will cover borderline occupations and the implications that this will have on their consideration of being included in the SOL in the future.

Agenda item 6 – Update on literature review (switched with Agenda item 7)

8. The secretariat and committee discussed the literature review that is being prepared by externally appointed academics.

Agenda item 7 – Future of the SOL, including international lessons learned

9. The secretariat and committee discussed the future of the SOL, including a discussion of various methods used by other countries. Several ideas were discussed on how the SOL will be delivered going forward and a future timeline.

Agenda item 8 – Evaluation – approach and remit

10. The secretariat and committee discussed how to evaluate the immigration system and policies.

Agenda item 9 – Windrush – culture changes, lessons learned and what that means for the MAC

11. The secretariat and committee discussed the potential implications on the MAC of the findings of the Windrush report.

Agenda item 10 – AOB

12. No other business was raised.

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