Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department offered guidance on any specific recommendations the Migration Advisory Committee may make when it publishes its report on the pattern of EU migration and the role of migration in the wider economy.

We will make decisions on the future immigration system based on evidence and engagement, which why on 27 July 2017 we asked the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to advise on the economic and social impacts of the UK’s exit from the EU and also on how the UK’s immigration system should be aligned with a modern industrial strategy.

The MAC is due to provide a final report in September and published an interim report on 27 March which is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/migration-advisory-committee

In parallel with recent Tier 2 changes regarding the limit, we have also commissioned the MAC to undertake a full review of the composition of the Shortage Occupation List. This review will enable the MAC to look at which posts are in national shortage and should be given priority within the Tier 2 cap in future. That review will conclude in Spring 2019.