Corporate report

Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) annual governance report, 2023 (accessible)

Published 13 December 2023

Foreword

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is a non-statutory, non-time limited, advisory non-departmental public body (NDPB) funded by the Home Office. Established in 2007, the Committee is currently made up of 5 members, including a Chair.

This governance report sits alongside and separate to the more analytically focused Annual Report. This is the fourth Annual Report published as part of the wider remit of the MAC that was established in the 2018 Immigration White Paper and as laid out in the current framework document. This framework document lays out our terms of reference, governance arrangements, as well as the responsibilities of the Home Office and the MAC Chair, Members and Secretariat. Finally, the working arrangements of the MAC and how it goes about its business are detailed.

To support transparency, the MAC is required to produce an annual declaration of financial accounts, and these form an integral part of this governance report. A summary list of the stakeholder engagements that Members of the Committee have attended in the year is provided and a record of all commissioned work and research papers published by the MAC in 2023.

In June, the Home Secretary sent a letter to all agencies and public bodies that are sponsored by the Home Office, including the MAC, requesting that we adopt and publish a statement adopting the IHRA’s definition of antisemitism. Therefore, in this report we include a policy statement on discrimination which details our refusal to accept discrimination in any shape or form in all the work of the Committee.

The Migration Advisory Committee

Chair, Professor Brian Bell

Brian Bell is a Professor of Economics at King’s Business School, a faculty of King’s College London. He joined KCL in 2017, following 4 years as an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at Oxford University and a Tutorial Fellow at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. He is a Research Associate at the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics and a Trustee of the Nuffield Foundation. Professor Bell is a leading labour economist who is widely published, and his work on immigration has included papers examining the progress of immigrants in the labour market in the UK, and the impact of immigration on crime in the UK. He has also worked extensively outside academia, including at the Bank of England, the International Monetary Fund, and in a number of financial companies in the UK.

Professor Bell has previously served as a member of the Police and National Crime Agency Remuneration Review Bodies.

Appointed February 2018 to February 2021

Appointed Chair July 2020 to June 2023 (extended to September 2023)

Reappointed Chair September 2023 to August 2026

Members

Professor Dina Kiwan

A Professor of Comparative Education at the University of Birmingham, Professor Kiwan has an interdisciplinary background in psychology, sociology, and education. Her broad research programme focuses on citizenship, inclusion and is interdisciplinary and comparative in scope. Her interests centre around sociological and politico-philosophical examinations of inclusive citizenship through the lens of education policy, naturalisation policy and migration policy, in particular in the context of pluralist/multicultural societies, and also societies in conflict.

Professor Kiwan has extensive and long-standing experience and networks in the UK and internationally, in the field of citizenship and currently leads the GCRF Network Plus Disability Under Siege programme (2020-2024) working with partners in Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine to address the challenge that most children with disabilities never go to school. Her policy and consulting experience includes co-authoring the UNESCO curriculum framework for global citizenship education (2015), co-authoring the Diversity and Citizenship review for UK government’s Department of Education (2007), and appointment by the Home Secretary to the Home Office ‘Life in the UK’ Advisory Group (2002).

Appointed May 2021 to April 2024

Professor Sergi Pardos-Prado

Sergi Pardos-Prado is Professor of Comparative Politics and Research Director of the Politics and International Relations department at the University of Glasgow. He was previously Associate Professor in Politics at Merton College, University of Oxford, and Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellow at Nuffield College Oxford. He received his PhD in Political and Social Sciences from the European University Institute in Florence.

Professor Pardos-Prado’s research expertise lies at the intersection between comparative politics, comparative political economy, and political behaviour. His work focuses on how labour market structures, welfare state designs, and immigration policy regimes affect migrant integration and inter-ethnic conflict. Professor Pardos-Prado’s research has been published in leading political science journals and gained external funding from prestigious funders.

Appointed May 2021 to April 2024

Dr Madeleine Sumption MBE

Madeleine Sumption is the Director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, which provides impartial analysis of migration in the UK for public and policy audiences. Her research focuses on labour migration and the economic and social impacts of migration policies.

Before joining Oxford, Madeleine was Director of Research for the international program at the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), in Washington, DC. She is currently chair of the Migration Statistics User Forum, which brings together producers and users of migration data in the UK. In 2017, she received an MBE for services to social science.

Appointed July 2016 to July 2019

Reappointed July 2019 to July 2022

Reappointed July 2022 to July 2025

Professor Jo Swaffield

A Professor of Economics and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Southampton, Professor Swaffield is an applied micro labour economist with strong research expertise in the UK labour market and a track record of providing quality research evidence to government. Her main research fields are in labour economics and applied micro-econometrics, focusing on issues such as the gender wage gap, low wages including minimum wages and the living wage, and employment, particularly in terms of working hours.

Professor Swaffield’s research has been published in leading economics journals and gained external funding from prestigious funders. She has delivered a number of commissioned research reports that have formed part of the evidence base for the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations on the UK’s National Minimum Wage.

Appointed February 2018 to February 2021

Reappointed February 2021 to February 2024

The MAC’s register of interests can be found here.

Financial Reporting

This is the financial statement of the MAC for the period 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023. The allocated budget by the Home Office was £1,180,000 and is managed by the Head of the Secretariat. A breakdown of the expenditure for the FY 22-23 and previous year are shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Budget and expenditure

	FY22/23		FY21/22
	Budget (£)	Expenditure (£)	Budget (£)	Expenditure (£)
Secretariat salaries		1,202,329		1,130,763
Chair salary		40,000		40,000
Committee members’ fees		23,581		24,200
Travel and subsistence		7,575		279
Training and development		15,870		12,957
Other office costs		11,433		11,800
Total	1,180,000	1,300,788	1,180,000	1,219,999

Source: Home Office financial system.

Notes: Budget breakdown is not available. Total budget was delegated as a single amount.

The expenditure for FY 22-23, excluding research, which is set apart (see section below), was £1,300,788. This saw an overspend of £120,788, which can be attributed to the costs relating to the secretariat operating with expanded team in the Devolved Nations and with increased activity in travel and training.

The costs accounted for are:

• the Chair, who is paid £40,000 per year (for 2 days work per week on MAC business);

• Committee members fees (a rate of £275 per day), with members normally working 2 days per month on MAC business. Members are expected to attend at least 80% of the full meetings held by the MAC per year, with these typically being held at least once per month;

• Salaries of the MAC Secretariat (a team of around 25 civil servants^{[footnote 1]}), which had expanded to incorporate a dedicated team working in the Devolved Nations;

• Administrative costs were utilized on specialist staff training and subscription licences for data. There was an increase in travel and subsistence costs incurred, due to the return of in-person meetings after COVID-19 restrictions lifted, with Committee and Secretariat members based across the UK.

Research and publications

During this reporting period, the Secretariat commissioned one piece of external research^{[footnote 2]} on behalf of the Committee, using the standard Home Office procurement process to ensure it delivers value for money.

The amount of £45,000 (excluding VAT) was used for a qualitative study on the impact of ending Freedom of Movement, carried out in collaboration with Revealing Reality. The published report can be found via the link in the 2023 MAC publications section.

Recruitment

On 30 June 2023, Professor Brian Bell was reappointed as Chair of the MAC for a further 3 years.

2023 stakeholder engagement

This section provides a record of all Committee Member stakeholder engagement in 2023 leading up to this report. In addition to the specific engagements listed below, the MAC Secretariat has held regular meetings with cross-government and Devolved Administration colleagues regarding our work.

Date	Meeting	Attendees
19/01/2023	Meeting with Vialto Partners	Prof Brian Bell (Chair)
27/01/2023	Meeting with HM Treasury (HMT) officials	Prof Brian Bell (Chair)
10/02/2023	Construction sector roundtable	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Prof Sergi Pardos-Prado, Toby Nutley + Secretariat Members
10/02/2023	Hospitality sector roundtable	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Prof Jo Swaffield, Toby Nutley + Secretariat Members
06/03/2023	Meeting with HMT officials	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Toby Nutley
27/03/2023	Meeting with John Shropshire, Chair of the Independent Review into Labour Shortages in the Food Supply Chain	Prof Brian Bell (Chair)
29/03/2023	Shortage Occupation List (SOL) roundtable with Confederation of British Industry (CBI)	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Dr Madeleine Sumption, Toby Nutley + Secretariat Members
11/04/2023	SOL roundtable with Creative UK	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Toby Nutley + Secretariat Members
17/04/2023	Meeting with Welsh Minister for Economy & Welsh Minister for Social Justice	Prof Brian Bell (Chair) + Secretariat Members
20/04/2023	SOL roundtable with consumer goods stakeholders	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Dr Madeleine Sumption, Toby Nutley + Secretariat Members
20/04/2023	SOL roundtable with British Retail Consortium (BRC)	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Prof Jo Swaffield, Toby Nutley + Secretariat Members
24/04/2023	SOL roundtable with construction stakeholders	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Toby Nutley + Secretariat Members
24/04/2023	SOL roundtable with engineering and manufacturing stakeholders	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Prof Jo Swaffield, Toby Nutley + Secretariat Members
25/04/2023	SOL roundtable with hospitality and personal care stakeholders	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Toby Nutley + Secretariat Members
25/04/2023	MAC Cross-Government Stakeholder Forum	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Prof Jo Swaffield, Toby Nutley + Secretariat Members
26/04/2023	BusinessLDN Immigration Working Group	Prof Brian Bell (Chair)
26/04/2023	SOL roundtable with Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA)	Prof Brian Bell (Chair) + Secretariat Members
27/04/2023	Westminster Legal Policy Forum: Next steps for UK immigration policy	Prof Brian Bell (Chair)
28/04/2023	MAC External Stakeholder Forum	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Prof Jo Swaffield, Toby Nutley + Secretariat Members
03/05/2023	SOL roundtable with Logistics UK	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Toby Nutley + Secretariat Members
03/05/2023	SOL roundtable with food supply chain stakeholders	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Prof Jo Swaffield, Toby Nutley + Secretariat Members
04/05/2023	SOL roundtable with Seafood Scotland	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Toby Nutley + Secretariat Members
05/05/2023	SOL roundtable with marine and fisheries stakeholders	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Toby Nutley + Secretariat Members
15/05/2023	SOL roundtable with Northern Ireland stakeholders	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Toby Nutley + Secretariat Members
15/05/2023	Meeting with John Shropshire, Chair of the Independent Review into Labour Shortages in the Food Supply Chain	Prof Brian Bell (Chair)
15/05/2023	Meeting with senior Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) officials	Prof Brian Bell (Chair) + Secretariat Members
16/05/2023	SOL roundtable with Scotland Food & Drink	Prof Brian Bell (Chair) + Secretariat Members
17/05/2023	Council of Foreign Chambers of Commerce (CFCC) online seminar on the UK’s immigration system	Prof Brian Bell (Chair)
22/05/2023	Meeting with Director of Labour Market Enforcement (DLME)	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Toby Nutley + Secretariat Members
22/05/2023	SOL roundtable with Vialto Partners	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Toby Nutley + Secretariat Members
25/05/2023	Meeting with Islands Forum	Prof Brian Bell (Chair) + Secretariat Members
09/06/2023	Meeting with the Ambassador of Switzerland to the UK	Prof Brian Bell (Chair)
15/06/2023	Meeting with Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street	Prof Brian Bell (Chair)
22/06/2023	Westminster Employment Forum: The future for tackling shortages in the UK labour market	Prof Brian Bell (Chair)
26/06/2023	Visit to Northampton Footwear Industry	Prof Brian Bell (Chair)
11/07/2023	Meeting with UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI)	Prof Brian Bell (Chair)
24/07/2023	Meeting with Rt Hon George Eustice MP	Prof Brian Bell (Chair)
26/07/2023	Meeting with Unison	Prof Brian Bell (Chair) + Secretariat Members
01/08/2023	Meeting with Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI)	Prof Brian Bell (Chair)
17/08/2023	Meeting with Sir Steve Smith	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Dr Madeleine Sumption
30/08/2023	Meeting with Stephen Kinnock MP	Prof Brian Bell (Chair)
30/08/2023	MAC Cross-Government Stakeholder Forum	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Prof Jo Swaffield, Holly White + Secretariat Members
31/08/2023	MAC External Stakeholder Forum	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Prof Jo Swaffield, Holly White + Secretariat Members
21/09/2023	Eversheds Sutherland immigration event, Belfast	Prof Brian Bell (Chair)
22/09/2023	Visit to Mushroom Farm, Northern Ireland	Prof Brian Bell (Chair) + Secretariat Members
28/09/2023	Visit to Horticulture Farm, Scotland	Prof Brian Bell (Chair) + Secretariat Members
29/09/2023	Visit to riding stables, organised by National Trainers Federation	Prof Brian Bell (Chair)
11/10/2023	Meeting with Australian Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Holly White
18/10/2023	Meeting with Home Office Analysis & Insight (HOAI)	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Holly White + Secretariat Members
19/10/2023	Meeting with Minister of State for Immigration, Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Holly White
20/10/2023	Meeting with Home Secretary Special Adviser (SpAd)	Prof Brian Bell (Chair) + Secretariat Members
23/10/2023	Meeting with DLME	Prof Brian Bell (Chair) + Secretariat Members
24/10/2023	Meeting with Armscare Ltd	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Prof Sergi Pardos-Prado, Dr Madeleine Sumption, Prof Jo Swaffield, Holly White + Secretariat Members
24/10/2023	Meeting with Skills for Care	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Dr Madeleine Sumption, Holly White + Secretariat Members
16/11/2023	Meeting with François Ortalo-Magné, Dean, London Business School	Prof Brian Bell (Chair)
23/11/2023	Meeting with Universities UK International (UUKi)	Prof Brian Bell (Chair) + Secretariat Members
24/11/2023	Meeting with Sir Steve Smith, Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and Department for Education (DfE) officials	Prof Brian Bell (Chair), Holly White + Secretariat Members
05/12/2023	Universities UK PVC International Network meeting	Prof Brian Bell (Chair)

2023 MAC publications

Date	Name of publication
10/02/2023	Shortage Methodology review
15/03/2023	Construction and Hospitality Shortage Review
14/06/2023	Revealing Reality Independent Report: The impact of the end of Freedom of Movement: A qualitative study
03/10/2023	Review of the Shortage Occupation List: 2023
08/11/2023	Immigrant Downgrading: New Evidence from UK Panel Data

MAC statement on discrimination

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) does not tolerate discrimination in any form and adopts this stance as part of its culture and through all the work the MAC performs, including in the workplace and with those it engages with to inform its work.

The MAC refuses to tolerate discrimination on the grounds of any protected characteristic and acknowledges the protected characteristics that have been established in legislation, namely the Equality Act 2010, which includes:

• age,

• disability,

• gender reassignment,

• being married or in a civil partnership,

• being pregnant or on maternity leave,

• race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin,

• religion or belief,

• sex,

• sexual orientation.

In addition to protected characteristics, the MAC does not tolerate discrimination on the grounds of any other characteristics or circumstances. Our approach includes, for example, the adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism.

The MAC also recognises that discrimination can come in different forms, including direct and indirect discrimination, harassment, and victimisation, and re-asserts its non-tolerance for discrimination in any form.

The MAC is committed to treating everyone it works with equitably and with courtesy and respect. On this basis, the Committee will conform and adhere to all anti-discrimination legislation and associated codes of practice.

1. The total number of staff includes 6 placements of various grades funded by separate central Home Office budget and are not included in the salaries in Table 1. ↩

2. Research is not included in Table 1; costs are drawn from a separate central HO programme budget. ↩