Migration Advisory Committee minutes, 12 June 2020
Published 28 July 2021
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129th meeting of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC)
Friday 12 June 2020 11am to 13:30pm Video / Telephone Conference
Attending:
- Professor Brian Bell
- Dr Jennifer Smith
- Professor Jo Swaffield
- Professor Jackline Wahba
- Paul Regan
- MAC Secretariat
Agenda item 1 – Welcome
1. Brian Bell opened the meeting, welcoming a new member of staff to the secretariat.
2. Jackline Wahba had some comments on Agenda item 6 of the last meeting, which was accepted by the committee.
Agenda item 2 – Home Office, MAC secretariat and MAC updates
3. Paul Regan congratulated Brian Bell on becoming the MAC chair. Paul noted Government is focused on launching the new immigration system on January 1st and Home Office engagement activity continues with stakeholders. The Immigration Bill continues to progress through Parliament. The number of EU settlement scheme applications stands at 3.65million and rising.
4. Toby congratulated Brian Bell on his permanent appointment. He noted job adverts for 3 committee members are now live and close in early July. The secretariat has met with devolved administrations around expanding the MAC into the DA’s. Stakeholder engagement has come to an end and Toby thanked Sheena and team for their work on this. He noted there is the potential for a follow up round of targeted engagement in those occupations where there are evidence gaps after the CfE closes. Recruitment of secretariat members is ongoing.
5. Brian Bell updated on recruitment of the committee and dates for appointing committee members. He discussed his meeting with Glynn Williams and his appearance before the Immigration Bill committee.
Agenda item 3 – MAC data requirements
6. The secretariat and committee discussed data priorities of the MAC to put forward to the Government. The Committee agreed with the priorities and what data is required by the MAC to fill evidence gaps in data analysis.
Agenda item 4 – Proposed approach for agreeing SOL recommendations
7. The secretariat and committee discussed the process of deciding which occupations are put on the SOL. The committee highlighted that the whole committee should have a say in the process.
Agenda item 5 – Stakeholder engagement findings
8. The Secretariat and committee discussed the recent stakeholder engagement. The committee’s attendance was well received by stakeholders. There is a high level of interest in filling out the call for evidence which closes on 24th June.
Agenda item 6 – Future methodology for Calls for Evidence
9. The secretariat and committee discussed the approach to future calls for evidence for minor SOL reviews. Agreed a set timetable approach, especially if reviews will be more frequent. Engagement should be made with other countries which have frequently reviewed SOL and how the practicalities would work. Discussions were had around the SOL being reactive vs. proactive in its minor reviews.
Agenda item 7 – Policy Chapter
10. The secretariat and committee discussed a draft of the policy chapter of the SOL report. Committee highlighted that it shouldn’t be the MAC’s role to justify Government policy. Committee views were discussed on the SOL salary reduction. Agreed to the chapter re-phrased to highlight the range of views and approaches.
Agenda item 8 – Agreeing descriptions of skill levels
11. The secretariat and committee discussed options, including RQF terminology. The committee agreed to have an explanatory paragraph in the introduction to explain the terminology.
Agenda item 9 – Impacts of Covid-19
12. The secretariat and committee discussed adding the impact of Covid-19 for occupations eligible for the SOL. The committee agreed to add the Covid-19 metrics onto the summary tables for each occupation.
Agenda item 10 – Employer research topic guides
13. The secretariat and committee discussed the guide for Employer research interviews. There were also discussions around the questions on proficiency, the analysis and the sample size of the research.
Agenda item 11 – Conjoint Analysis- update and IFF proposal
14. There was an update from the secretariat on the ongoing call for evidence for the SOL report which ends on the 24th June. The secretariat and committee discussed the conjoint analysis proposal. The Committee proposed asking more high-level questions of employers prior to the conjoint analysis.
Agenda item 12 – AOB
15. There was no other business.