February 2024 Migration Advisory Committee meeting minutes
Updated 21 October 2024
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Migration Advisory Committee
2nd Floor, Peel Building NE
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
172nd meeting of Migration Advisory Committee: minutes
Friday 16th February 2024 10:00 to 12:30
Virtual conference
Attending
Professor Brian Bell
Professor Dina Kiwan
Professor Sergi Pardos-Prado
Dr Madeleine Sumption
Professor Jo Swaffield
Philippa Rouse (covering for Claire Smith)
Holly White
MAC Secretariat
Apologies
Claire Smith
Agenda Item 1 – Welcome and introductions
1. Brian Bell opened the meeting and welcomed the attendees.
Agenda Item 2 – Food security
2. Professor Michael Winter delivered a presentation on food security and took questions from the committee. He discussed topics such as change in production supply ratio, labour in horticulture, defining food security, why horticulture is important and trends in growing in the UK.
Agenda item 3 – Revealing Reality – Seasonal Worker research findings
3. Revealing Reality presented some of the key findings from their research interviews and visits to horticulture, poultry and ornamental farms for the Seasonal Worker visa project.
Agenda item 4 – Home Office, MAC Secretariat and MAC updates
4. Philippa Rouse joined for the Home Office update item and provided an update on Home Office business, including on MAC commissions. She then left the meeting after this agenda item.
5. Holly White provided an overview on work of the secretariat including on the Immigration Salary List review and plans for the Graduate Route review. Last week the secretariat held stakeholder forums with external stakeholders and cross government. Holly also updated on committee reappointments.
6. A secretariat member gave an update on what recent changes to the ONS Labour Force Survey data could mean and asked the committee for their views.
7. Brian updated on his recent meetings including with the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, MP Robert Jenrick, and the Home Affairs Select Committee.
Agenda item 5 – Immigration Salary List (ISL)
8. A secretariat member presented a draft paper on the ISL rapid review and asked the committee for their views.
Agenda item 6 – Graduate Route update
9. Brian explained plans for the Graduate Route review. A secretariat member discussed the data access issues relating to this work.
Agenda item 7 – Graduate Route research approach and Call for Evidence (CfE)
10. A secretariat member discussed the research options paper, also presenting a draft CfE and took questions from the committee.
Agenda item 8 – AOB
11. None.