Migration Advisory Committee milestones
This page lists some key events for the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) since it first met in December 2008. For information about milestones in setting up the MAC, see the How the MAC was established page.
Government responds to MAC's recommended shortage occupation lists - 13 May 2009
On the 13 May 2009 the government announced its response to the MAC's review, published a month earlier, of the recommended shortage occupation lists for the United Kingdom and Scotland.
MAC chairman David Metcalf said:
'We are pleased that the government has accepted in full our revised recommended shortage occupation lists. We will continue to monitor the labour market given the current economic situation and will submit our next update to Government later this year.'
The MAC will report to the Government on shortage occupations by the end of September 2009. By then the MAC will have reviewed all of the occupations on its original recommended shortage lists, published in September 2008.
MAC publishes new report on recommended shortage occupation lists for Scotland and the United Kingdom; first partial review - 29 April 2009
On 29 April 2009 the Migration Advisory Committee published its latest report, making recommendations based on its first partial review of the shortage occupation lists for the United Kingdom and for Scotland. These lists, which are used alongside Tier 2 of the points-based system for managing immigration, comprised skilled occupations where there are shortages that can sensibly be filled by enabling employers to recruit migrants from outside the European Economic Area.
The Committee produced its first recommended lists in September 2008, which were accepted in full by the Government. The Committee said that it would carry out partial reviews every six months, with a full review every two years. This report was the result of the first partial review. A news story announcing publication of the report can be found on this website.
The Committee is due to publish a partial review of the lists in autumn 2009. A list of the occupations being reviewed (PDF 16K opens in a new window) can be found on this website.
Evidence submitted by stakeholders is an important part of the Committee's deliberations. The Committee encourages contact from stakeholders to submit evidence where it is believed that an occupation should be included, or not included, on the shortage occupation lists.
New areas of work for the MAC - notification of call for evidence
The MAC was asked by the government to offer advice on the following questions, in addition to its continuing work on the shortage occupation lists:
- Is there an economic case for restricting Tier 2 to shortage occupations only?
- What is the committee's assessment of the economic contribution made by the dependants of the points-based system migrants and their role in the labour market?
- What further changes to the criteria for Tier 1 should there be in 2010/11, given the changing economic circumstances?
The Committee published a paper on its planned approach to this work. This included a call for evidence, with a deadline of 11 June 2009.
April 2009 - MAC report on transitional measures for A8 nationals
The MAC was asked by the Government to consider the likely impact on the United Kingdom labour market of relaxing transitional measures in respect of labour market access for nationals of member states that joined the European Union in 2004 (the A8), and whether it would be sensible to do so. The Government also asked the MAC to take any issues relating to Scotland into account, if appropriate.
The European Treaty of Accession means that the Worker Registration Scheme will automatically come to an end in 2011, but the Government asked the MAC to consider whether it should continue until that time.
The MAC's advice was that the scheme should remain in place for workers from the A8 countries who want to come and work in the United Kingdom.
The MAC's news release announcing the publication of its report can be found on this website.
The Government announced that it accepted the MAC's advice and would retain the transitional measures.
February 2009 - new areas of work for the MAC
In February 2009, the MAC was asked by the Government to offer advice on the following questions, in addition to its continuing work on the shortage occupation list:
- Is there an economic case for restricting Tier 2 to shortage occupations only?
- What is the MAC's assessment of the economic contribution made by the dependants of the points-based system migrants and their role in the labour market?
- What further changes to the criteria for Tier 1 should there be in 2010/11, given the changing economic circumstances?
The MAC was asked to publish reports addressing the first two questions by the end of July 2009, and a report addressing the third question by the end of October 2009.
The MAC was happy to take on this work, and recognised its importance in the present economic circumstances. While the deadlines were challenging, the Committee recognised and accepted the need for the Government to have early advice on these issues.
December 2008 - MAC report on A2 restrictions (Bulgaria and Romania)
The United Kingdom Government was obliged by European Union law to notify the European Commission if it intended to maintain labour market restrictions on nationals of Bulgaria and Romania (the A2 countries) beyond January 2009.
The MAC was asked by Government to advise on the implications of lifting restrictions. The MAC's news release announcing the publication of its report can be found on this website.
The Government announced its intention to follow the MAC's advice and keep restrictions in place with modifications.
November 2008 - Government response to MAC's recommended shortage occupation lists
On 11 November 2008, the Government announced its response to the MAC's recommended shortage occupation lists for the United Kingdom and Scotland.
MAC chairman David Metcalf said:
'We are pleased that the Government has agreed to implement our full recommended shortage occupation list. We will continue to review any evidence and update the list if necessary.'
In addition to accepting the list, the Government decided that social workers would continue to be on the list for a transitional period while the Committee reviewed the evidence on them. This evidence was not submitted to the MAC in time for its first report.
From November 2008 to March 2009, the MAC would specifically review some occupations to consider whether, and on what terms, they should be included on future shortage occupation lists. These included occupations that the Government had asked the MAC to consider, and other occupations that the MAC's previous work identified as priorities. For more information, see the full list of occupations to be reviewed (PDF 53K opens in new window).
September 2008 - new recommended shortage occupation lists for Scotland and the United Kingdom
On 9 September 2008, the MAC published its first recommended shortage occupation lists for the United Kingdom and for Scotland, for use alongside the launch of Tier 2 of the new points-based system for immigration.
The lists comprised skilled occupations where, in the MAC's view, there were shortages that could sensibly be filled by enabling employers to recruit migrants from outside the European Economic Area (EEA). The lists formed part of a detailed report setting out how the Committee arrived at its recommended lists.
The MAC first met in December 2007. In the lead-up to this publication, it published interim reports outlining its intended approach to determining which occupations should be on the shortage occupation lists. The MAC issued, through its February 2008 report, a call for evidence and carefully considered the responses it received. It also undertook a detailed programme of additional evidence gathering activities, including visits to every region and the country of the United Kingdom. This was underpinned by detailed and comprehensive statistical analysis of the United Kingdom labour market.
The September 2008 report drew together over eight months of detailed work, but this was not the end of the story. The Committee continues to review the list and is open to receiving evidence at any time. Evidence submitted by stakeholders is an important element of the evidence base on which the Committee works. We therefore encourage stakeholders to contact us to submit evidence where it is believed that an occupation should be included, or not included, on the shortage occupation lists.