MAC report released

28 January 2020

In response to the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) points-based system and salary thresholds report, Ben Moore, policy analyst at the Russell Group said:

“We welcome MAC’s acknowledgement that the £30,000 threshold is prohibitively high, and hope it is not included in the Government’s new, points-based immigration system. The report makes a number of proposals that could boost UK research, including a recommitment to removing the Resident Labour Market Test, lowering the skills threshold and abolishing caps on skilled labour.

“In addition, giving graduates more time to meet experienced worker thresholds would allow the UK to retain more talented international graduates, while the proposal to explore a regional visa could help unlock potential outside London and the South East.

“However, we have serious concerns with the MAC’s call to move away from recognised sector salary rates for universities’ teaching and education professionals, which would see the minimum salary threshold for lecturers increase to over £40,000. This would seriously inhibit our ability to recruit international academics, particularly those on part-time contracts, who are predominantly women.”

Notes

• Analysis carried out by EY shows a £30,000 threshold would mean a third of all roles – around 59,000 positions – at Russell Group universities would not be open to future international employees.
• A quarter of the Russell Group work force is employed on a part-time basis, 70% of whom are women.

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