Research and analysis

Letter to the Home Secretary on the Temporary Shortage List: Stage 2 report (accessible)

Published 23 July 2026

Migration Advisory Committee
2nd Floor Peel Building NE
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood MP
Home Secretary
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

enquiries@mac.gov.uk

23 July 2026

Dear Home Secretary,

Today the MAC have published the second stage of our review of the Temporary Shortage List (TSL) in response to the commissioning letter dated 2 July 2025.

We were asked to review the set of RQF 3-5 occupations to be included on the TSL. As outlined in the Immigration White Paper, the TSL will provide time-limited access to occupations below RQF 6 which are deemed crucial to the delivery of the Industrial Strategy or critical infrastructure.

We approached the 12-month review in two stages. Stage 1 was published on 9 October 2025 and provided recommendations for the design of the TSL as well as a list of 82 occupations we recommended proceed to Stage 2.

In Stage 2, we assessed which of those 82 occupations should be recommended for inclusion on the TSL. Our assessment was based on the criteria set out in the commissioning letter:

• Whether each occupation was in shortage or likely to be in shortage in the near future;
• Whether there is a credible plan to increase training and use of the domestic workforce;
• Whether risks of abuse or exploitation are being managed, and;
• Whether TSL access is appropriate overall based on nature of occupation, type of shortage and potential risks.

We ran a Call for Evidence (CfE) to collect occupation-specific Jobs Plans from sector-owning government departments and undertook significant engagement with employers and representative bodies to gather wider evidence.

Of the 46 occupations with Jobs Plans, we recommend that 28 occupations should receive 18-month access to the TSL. No occupations were judged to have a strong enough Jobs Plan to justify 3-year access. In some cases, the clear importance of certain occupations to immediate government priorities, such as housebuilding, meant that access was considered proportionate given the risks of exclusion from the immigration system.

The commissioning letter set out a clear policy principle and assessment criteria. Our recommendations are based on that framework and the evidence we received but make every effort to be proportionate, recognising that this was the first iteration of this exercise. We recommend that 18 occupations with Jobs Plans should not receive TSL access. Seven were judged not to be in shortage, seven had particularly weak Jobs Plans and two were not considered appropriate for TSL access. We also recommend separate treatment for specific roles within the Dancers and Choreographers, and Musicians occupations.

We do not recommend any Devolved Nation-specific additions to the TSL at this stage. The evidence received did not provide a sufficiently different shortage picture compared with the UK as a whole.

We would like to thank all stakeholders who contributed to this review, particularly those who submitted Jobs Plans and members of the Labour Market Evidence Group.

Before the 18-month access period expires, we propose a lighter-touch review to assess whether Jobs Plans have been strengthened and whether access should be extended.

Assuming that the Government maintains the framework laid out in the Immigration White Paper, future reviews every three years should apply the same criteria as this initial review, with greater focus on whether Jobs Plans are delivering progress. While some actions, such as new training routes, may not be fully scaled by the next review, we would expect to see clear progress. Where barriers such as further education training capacity continue to limit domestic workforce supply, TSL access may need extending before reliance on migration can ease.

On behalf of the Migration Advisory Committee,

Yours sincerely,

Dr. Madeleine Sumption, MBE
Interim Chair, Migration Advisory Committee

cc:

Gareth Davies CB, Permanent Secretary

Simon Ridley, Second Permanent Secretary

Daniel Hobbs, Director General Migration and Borders Group