MAC report on points based system and salary thresholds for immigration - AoC responds

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has responded to the Home Secretary's commission into a points-based system and salary thresholds for immigration. Responding to the report, Deputy Chief Executive Julian Gravatt said: "The Migration Advisory Committee's report is a detailed piece of work on a complicated subject. AoC shares the committee's aim that government policy should aim to ensure that the UK should have a high wage, high skill and high productivity economy. The government's plans to introduce new migration rules will require investment by employers, individuals and government itself to avoid new skills shortages. AoC welcomes the committee's recommendation that the salary threshold for the skilled worker route should be set at £25,600 rather than £30,000 and that the rules for new entrants should be more flexible. The committee express concern that the data in this area is limited and say there is a risk that decisions will be taken and then changed at short notice in response to unexpected developments. The government's plans involve a massive change for employers only 3% of whom currently have sponsor licences [30000 out of 1 million]. There is a risk that bringing in the rules and new systems too quickly in 2021 will cause unnecessary and unhelpful disruption to people, companies and public services." You can read the full report here.