Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Accepted
Publish comprehensive evaluation of Skilled Worker visa route’s costs, benefits, and impact on skill shortages.
Conclusion
The Home Office has not had a full understanding of how immigration has helped to address skill shortages or the unintended consequences of the much higher than anticipated use of the Skilled Worker route. More people have used the Skilled Worker visa route than the Home Office anticipated in 2020. It forecast that it would issue 360,000 Skilled Worker visas to overseas applicants (including dependants) over the three years to April 2024, but it issued 931,000. From when the government opened the Skilled Worker visa route in December 2020 up to the end of 2024, 1.18 million people applied to enter the United Kingdom via this route, including, 630,000 as dependants of the main applicant. The route has brought benefits and enabled employers to recruit internationally to help address skill shortages. However, there have also been consequences, such as an 80% increase in people staying permanently in the United Kingdom in 2024 compared to 2021, and the number of people claiming asylum after entering on a Skilled Worker visa rising from 53 in 2022 to 5,300 in 2024. The Home Office reviewed the use of the route in 2022—before its expansion to include care workers—and the recent White Paper sets out the occupations making use of Skilled Worker visas. However, the Home Office has not yet published its evaluation of the route, including whether it is meeting its objectives, the impact on skills shortages across different sectors of the labour market or regions of the United Kingdom, and whether the route has operated as intended. recommendation Alongside its Treasury minute response to this report, the Home Office should write to the Committee setting out the results of its evaluation of the Skilled Worker visa route, including: • the costs and benefits of the route; • the extent to which the route is helping employers across sectors/regions to address skill shortages; and • any unintended consequences of the higher than expected use of the route including the impact of the
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and has set out the results of its Skilled Worker route evaluation, detailing motivations for applicants and businesses, benefits to employers, and the importance of dependants. It also acknowledged a potential unintended consequence regarding some individuals' reported salaries not meeting sponsor thresholds.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Immigration White Paper on 12 May. Skilled worker evaluation. The evaluation of the Skilled Worker route found that visa holders were primarily motivated to come to the UK by career opportunities (87%) and wanting to experience living in the UK (70%), while businesses most cited a shortage of skilled UK candidates (30%) as their motivation to sponsor Skilled Workers. Sponsors reported a range of business benefits from employing Skilled Workers, including creating a more diverse workforce (34%), bringing in new cultural perspectives (26%), and learning new skills from other markets (24%). The ability to bring dependants was a key feature in deciding to work in the UK. Of those with dependants (54%), only 10% reported they would still have come to the UK if they had not been able to bring dependants. Most dependant partners were reported to be employed (71%) – the majority were employed full-time (54%). Self-reported English language ability for Skilled Workers and dependants were high. Before coming to the UK, 69% of main applicants could speak English “very well” (53% for dependant partners). This increased to 82% at the time of the survey (66% for dependant partners). A potential unintended consequence of higher than expected use of the route is that, while most reported salaries exceeded current thresholds, some survey responses indicate that some individuals may not be compensated at thresholds which sponsors are required to meet. 39% of Skilled Workers reported earning up to £35,000 per annum, while 22% of Health and Care visa holders earned up to £22,500 per annum, though it is not possible from the survey to determine whether this is due to individual migrant circumstances (e.g., new entrant discounts). The survey sample also spans salary policy changes, meaning not all respondents were subject to the same minimum income requirements. Variations in individual salary rules and discounts may also account for reported salaries below standard route minimums, and methodological limitations could also have skewed salary estimates.