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Have Your Say on the UK's Post-Brexit Immigration Policy

on Monday, 23 October 2017.

The Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, has commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to carry out a detailed analysis and prepare a report on migration from the European Economic Area (EEA).

The MAC's report and findings will help inform the government's plans for a post-Brexit immigration system. The MAC - a non-departmental public body that advises the government on migration issues - has also been asked to look at the role of migration in the wider economy and society.

A Call for Evidence

In response to the commission from the Home Secretary, the MAC have published a Call for Evidence from interested parties to help it review EEA migration across different sectors, regions, skill levels and patterns of work (eg self-employment, entrepreneurs, agency, temporary and seasonal). The MAC are keen to receive evidence to help them consider:

  • current patterns of EEA migration

  • possible future trends in EEA migration (absent new immigration controls)

  • the economic and social costs and benefits of EEA migration

  • the potential impact of any future reductions in EEA migration across the economy and society

  • the impact of immigration by both EEA and non-EEA nationals on the competitiveness of UK industry

  • the impact on skills and training

  • whether economic migration policy should be focussed on highly skilled jobs or across the entire skills spectrum

Although the MAC have been asked to deliver their final report to government by September 2018, the deadline for responses to their Call for Evidence is 11:59pm on Friday 27 October 2017. If your organisation is in any way concerned about post-Brexit immigration policy and has not yet responded to the MAC directly, now is the time to speak out.

What You Should Consider When Collating Your Views

  • If you are unable to meet the MAC's deadline, the MAC have asked that you inform them so that they can consider whether to continue to accept your response. If you are embarking on your own information gathering exercise and will not have the results until after the deadline then the MAC have confirmed that they will continue to incorporate that evidence until such a time that they must focus on drafting the final report for their own September 2018 deadline.

  • The MAC are primarily interested in considering the economic impacts of immigration and so prefer facts and statistics to anecdote. Therefore, the more you are able to quantify the anticipated effects of Brexit on your business and your EEA national employees, the more weight is likely to be attached to your submission. Real life case studies can be of value though if they help to illustrate a point, such as an example of a skilled EEA national who has turned down a role because of the uncertainty over Brexit.

  • Alternatively, if you do not have time to prepare a lengthy submission, you may simply prefer to advise the MAC of sources of useful data and information concerning employment of EEA nationals in your region or particular size and type of operation. The MAC will undoubtedly be relying on the usual sources of migration and economic data when preparing their report, but if you know of other sources of information which they are less likely to be familiar with then this should be drawn to their attention.

  • As a public body the MAC cannot guarantee the anonymity of individual company responses if sent to them directly as they are subject to the Freedom of Information Act. You may therefore prefer to anonymise your response or respond through us if you are concerned about the sensitivity of the information you are relying on.

If you need any assistance with your organisation's response to the MAC or have any other immigration query (Brexit related or otherwise), please do not hesitate to contact Tom Brett Young in our Immigration Law team on 0121 227 3759.

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