Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 10
10
Accepted
Develop formal cross-government processes to understand Skilled Worker route impacts and regional skill shortages.
Recommendation
Despite this, we were concerned that collaboration was not effective and that there had been insufficient consideration of the impacts of rule changes. In particular, we were not convinced that there had been sufficient collaboration between the Home Office and departments on the role of immigration in sectoral workforce strategies.17 One result of this is that the Home Office has not had a full understanding of how the Skilled Worker route works for different regions of the United Kingdom, including the devolved nations.18 For example, we highlighted a mismatch between the needs of the care sector—which has skill shortages in rural areas—and where most migrant workers are brought in to work.19 We urged the Home Office to better understand how the route is working across the whole of the United Kingdom, working with departments, and relevant bodies, to develop an up-to-date understanding of the skill shortages and salary levels across the devolved nations. The Home Office accepted that there was more it could do to join-up across government and identified the need to formalise processes for cross-government working at an official level to improve the effectiveness of collaboration.20
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation to improve collaboration and understanding of the Skilled Worker route across the UK, setting a target date of December 2025. It will use the Labour Market Evidence Group (LMEG) to strengthen cross-government collaboration and develop guidance for workforce strategies, with the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) contributing evidence on devolved and regional labour markets.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
1.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: December 2025 1.2 As recognised by the National Audit Office, changes to immigration rules are subject to collective government agreement. In considering potential changes to the Skilled Worker visa route, the Home Office has engaged with other departments and, in particular, worked collaboratively with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on the social care sector. The Labour Market Evidence Group (LMEG) will further strengthen collaboration between the Home Office and departments leading on labour market and skills. 1.3 The Immigration White Paper published on 12 May set out some of the government’s thinking on how the LMEG would operate. It will consider workforce strategies looking at the following issues: • How far the workforce strategy is underpinned by a skills strategy; • How far it is underpinned by a commitment to work with the Department for Work and Pensions on a domestic labour strategy; • How the sector will manage the risk of exploitation of workers, particularly migrant workers in the sector; and • Whether the strategy is sufficiently ambitious. 1.4 The former Home Secretary also commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to undertake a review of salary thresholds and the Temporary Shortage List (TSL). As part of this review, the MAC is working with the LMEG to collect and analyse relevant data. 1.5 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: July 2026 1.6 The Immigration White Paper (IWP) highlighted that work-based migration has been driven by particular sectors who have been forced to rely on overseas recruitment due to shortages linked to skills, training, and conditions here in the UK. 1.7 The lack of a comprehensive workforce plan has limited the ability of sectors to address the underlying drivers of shortages. The IWP set out that key sectors, where there are high levels of overseas recruitment will need to produce, or update, workforce strategies which relevant employers will be expected to comply with. The MAC will recommend occupations be added to the TSL, only if they have an effective workforce plan in place. The MAC is working with other members of the LMEG develop and share evidence about the state of the workforce, training levels and participation by the domestic labour market, including at Devolved government and regional levels. It is focused on the eight Industrial Strategy sectors. It is expected the MAC will have almost concluded the second part of their current commission on the TSL by July 2026. 1.8 In the context of the objectives of the industrial strategy, Immigration White Paper and TSL review, the LMEG is developing guidance for sector experts across government to develop workforce strategies where needed. These will likely focus on assessing the size of occupational shortages, diagnosing what is causing shortages, and the actions of government and employers to close shortages.