English UK responds to migration advisory committee report

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has proposed that the minimum salary threshold for migrant workers in the UK should be dropped to £25,600.

This proposal, part of the MAC's report commissioned by the government in the summer, will be used by officials drafting the post-Brexit immigration regulations. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that he wants "an Australian-style points-based system".

The MAC was asked by then home secretary Sajid Javid to work with businesses to establish what they wanted from a new system.

Huan Japes, English UK's membership director, said: "Our members are disappointed with the MAC's minimum salary recommendation.

"It is difficult for language centres to recruit for certain positions, especially in some parts of the UK, and summer schools which take on staff during peak periods only are particularly concerned that they will not be able to keep on hiring from outside the UK as they do now.

"We understand the government may or may not take on board the MAC's recommendations; we ask them to take on board our concerns."

MAC report: main points

• Many stakeholders wanted there to be no salary threshold other than the minimum wage. They preferred any threshold to be lower than the current £30k
• Should there be geographical variations in salary thresholds? Stakeholder views were mixed and creating a London/rest of UK system would create a much higher threshold in the city with only a slightly lower one for the rest of the UK
• A PBS is always just one part of a wider immigration system and typically also represents just part of the work migration system. In line with international points-based systems, the recommendations for a PBS are focused on highly-skilled migrants.
• The MAC recommend retaining the existing framework for Tier 2 (General). It should remain as an employer-sponsored route with a salary threshold, expanded to include medium and highly-skilled workers.
• Read the full report +