The study, which includes an examination of the impact of EEA immigration on the UK economy, recommends a number of reforms to the immigration system in the event free movement of EEA nationals is not included in any trade deal which the UK negotiates with the EU. However, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) have offered a rather cool response, highlighting the needs of the sector to be able to attract and retain skilled professionals from around the world, and advising the government that "Post Brexit, the UK’s immigration system must be needs-based, build on the UK's strong academic science base, and support the UK life sciences sector to flourish."
Most of the MAC's recommendations centre around changes to the Tier 2 immigration categories, which are used for sponsoring skilled workers. General recommendations made by the MAC include the following:
In order to make up any shortfall of medium to high-skilled workers resulting from Brexit, the report recommends the following amendments to Tier 2:
I believe the MAC's report focuses too much on Tier 2. The Immigration Law Practitioners' Association take the same view, arguing that Tier 2 is overly bureaucratic and not sufficiently flexible to address the several distinct migration issues resulting from Brexit. ILPA also criticised the failure to make any recommendations regarding self-employed workers.
A further criticism is the unwillingness of the MAC to recommend regional variations in minimum salary levels, despite the overwhelming evidence of the higher salaries available to workers in London and the South East. This rejection by the MAC seems even more peculiar given their recommendation that the government "pay more attention to managing the consequences of migration at a local level".
The MAC's report was published at the same time as a study by the Open University which found that 61% of employers have been experiencing skills shortages since 2017, with 48% of senior business leaders expecting Brexit to have a detrimental effect on talent pools. These figures will come as no surprise to a Pharma and Life Sciences sector that has been concerned about skills shortages for some time.
Leaks from the Cabinet following publication of the MAC's report suggest that the Cabinet have agreed to adopt most of the MAC's recommendations in full. However, further leaks suggest that they are also considering sector-based immigration schemes to ensure the shortages in particular sectors are minimised, in spite of the MAC's explicit recommendations against such a move. The government's official position is expected before the end of 2018, with the publication of its White Paper on post-Brexit immigration.
While I believe that the MAC's report focusses too much on Tier 2, relaxing the rules surrounding Tier 2 sponsorship is positive news for employers. However, the government will need to ensure it has sufficient capacity to deal with the inevitable increase in applications that will result from such changes.