Skilled worker mobility

#24 —

Science and Technology Committee

Recommendation: In its response to this report, the government should set out a clear, cross-departmental strategy for ensuring a secure and sustainable domestic talent pipeline in the key scientific and technological capabilities it has identified as critical to the UK’s future …

Response status not verified

#23 —

Science and Technology Committee

Recommendation: While targeted measures to strengthen research security are important, they cannot be considered in isolation from the wider structural pressures facing UK universities. Financial constraints, reliance on international student income and weaknesses in the domestic talent pipeline in key subjects …

Response status not verified

#3 —

Science and Technology Committee

Recommendation: The UK’s Global Talent Fund is a welcome initiative but lacks ambition and scale. It fails to address the high upfront costs faced by researchers coming to the UK, which our witnesses consistently identified as a key deterrent for science …

Response status not verified

#14 —

Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee

Recommendation: The government should also work to combat perceived perceptions of the UK being a difficult location to hold business events, in order to enhance the UK’s competitiveness when bidding for events. We recommend that the government work to simplify visa …

Response status not verified

#13 —

Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee

Recommendation: We recommend that the government pursue a Mutual Recognition Agreement for business events with the EU to recognise UK qualifications in the EU. (Recommendation, Paragraph 32)

Response status not verified

#12 —

Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee

Recommendation: Post‑Brexit barriers, including visas, bureaucracy and loss of mutual recognition, have damaged the UK’s competitiveness and reinforced perceptions that it is a more difficult and costly destination for business events. (Conclusion, Paragraph 31)

Response status not verified

#18 —

Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee

Recommendation: Commitments to continued dialogue without defined objectives and timelines are inadequate. We recommend that the Government clearly identifies the priority services sectors for improved business mobility and sets out, in precise terms, the specific outcomes it is seeking from the …

Response status not verified

#17 —

Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee

Recommendation: We welcome the commitments made in the Common Understanding to seek improved business mobility arrangements. However, we note that progress on this issue is unlikely until after the planned UK-EU dialogues in the second quarter of this year. This is …

Response status not verified

#16 —

Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee

Recommendation: We recommend that the Government uses the Reset to urgently prioritise improved mobility and visa arrangements for touring artists, moving beyond commitments to further dialogue, and delivers practical, measurable outcomes that support the UK’s creative industries. (Recommendation, Paragraph 42)

Response status not verified

#13 —

Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee

Recommendation: We therefore recommend the Government sets out the UK ambitions for the agreement on a Youth Experience Scheme. This should set out the overall numbers of participants allowed, the visa timeframes, visa requirements, and its position on access to home …

Response status not verified

#12 —

Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee

Recommendation: We note there are potential benefits for the UK from a Youth Experience Scheme with the EU, economically and culturally. We recognise however there is a mismatch between the UK and the EU ambitions. (Conclusion, Paragraph 35)

Response status not verified

#5 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: The Home Office, in collaboration with Defra, should review the Skilled Worker Visa salary thresholds for veterinary roles by early 2027 to ensure they: • reflect realistic earlycareer salary progression in the sector; • do not create barriers to recruiting …

Response status not verified

#14 —

Defence Committee

Recommendation: The Government must urgently remove barriers to workforce mobility across the AUKUS partners, beginning with security clearances. We recommend that the MOD, working with trilateral partners and in consultation with industry, set out within six months a clear plan to …

Response attribution not verified

#13 —

Defence Committee

Recommendation: We are deeply concerned by the Government’s failure to recognise the impact of barriers to workforce movement across the trilateral. The ensuing inconvenience and cost may currently be manageable—although they are having a stifling effect on collaboration—but it is clear …

Response attribution not verified

#19 —

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: However, the process has not been working as intended. The process can be expensive and lasts for only five years, with costs often passed onto leaseholders.57 The process has been slow; the demand for the work to inspect external walls …

Response attribution not verified

#7 —

Scottish Affairs Committee

Recommendation: The Seasonal Workers Pilot Scheme is vital for the Scottish food sector, the pandemic highlighted that there is not the local take-up for these seasonal roles. We believe that not having enough people to harvest Scottish food puts an important …

Response attribution not verified

#20 — Construction industry faces capacity challenges from ageing workforce and Brexit, impacting remediation acceleration.

Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation: We asked witnesses if the construction industry had the capacity to support the acceleration of remediation. The HBF told us acceleration was happening, but that it would be challenging. It outlined some of the challenges facing the sector, including an …

Response attribution not verified

#23 — Slow transition of skilled home heating workforce to low carbon retrofit, compounded by ageing.

Energy Security and Net Zero Committee

Recommendation: The UK has a skilled home heating workforce but its transition to work on low carbon retrofit is not happening at the pace required to upgrade homes at scale. This is compounded by a twin underlying crisis: few new entrants …

Response attribution not verified

#22 — Develop targeted support and upskilling for new Welsh farmers, protecting tenant farming

Welsh Affairs Committee

Recommendation: The UK Government should work in close partnership with the Welsh Government to develop more targeted support and technical upskilling programmes for young and new entrants into the Welsh farming sector. In doing so, it must actively promote and protect …

Response attribution not verified

#21 — UK Government fails to recognise tenant farming's vital role for new Welsh entrants

Welsh Affairs Committee

Recommendation: We support a long-term vision for farming in which generational transition within the sector is more actively supported. This includes creating clear and viable pathways for new entrants into farming, while ensuring that older farmers feel confident and assured to …

Response attribution not verified

#26 — Link investment in training to nationally recognised accreditation for retrofit and clean energy workers

Energy Security and Net Zero Committee

Recommendation: We emphasise that workforce expansion in retrofit and clean heat must go hand-in-hand with high and verifiable standards of competence. Written evidence criticised aspects of the existing skills and competence system in retrofit and related sectors, calling for tighter and …

Response attribution not verified

#18 — Establish a nationally recognised, industry-backed construction and retrofit skills programme with partners.

Energy Security and Net Zero Committee

Recommendation: Given the scale of workforce demand in construction and retrofit, including the need for an estimated additional 250,000 workers to meet new housing targets and millions more for retrofit we recommend that Government work with CITB, Skills England, and industry …

Response attribution not verified

#14 — Empower devolved governments and resource coordination for consistent training and skill portability.

Energy Security and Net Zero Committee

Recommendation: We welcome the Government’s attention to leveraging the significant potential of various levels of devolved government across different parts of the UK. They should be empowered to lead on approaches tailored to local or regional strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, the …

Response attribution not verified

#12 — Devolved governments are crucial for national workforce planning, ensuring consistent quality and skill portability.

Energy Security and Net Zero Committee

Recommendation: National workforce planning will need to be delivered beyond Whitehall and devolved levels of government have a crucial role to play. National plans need to recognise that delivery of the workforce may diverge according to local circumstance and need while …

Response attribution not verified

#6 — Set out options by 2026 for leveraging skilled immigration to boost home-grown talent.

Energy Security and Net Zero Committee

Recommendation: The Government should, by the end of 2026, set out a range of further options for conditionality to leverage the short-term need for skilled immigration to boost the longer-term need for home-grown talent. An analysis of their potential impacts should …

Response attribution not verified

#4 — Expand Skills Passports and establish commitments for energy sector workforce transition and support targets.

Energy Security and Net Zero Committee

Recommendation: The Government must continue to tackle barriers preventing existing energy sector workers transitioning successfully. Skills Passports and associated funding should be expanded. The Government in its response to us should propose how the transferability of skills across traditional boundaries and …

Response attribution not verified

#3 — Explore Danish measures for skills shortages and initiate work on home-grown talent for clean energy.

Energy Security and Net Zero Committee

Recommendation: There may be a need for the import of some specific skills from overseas, at least in the short term, to deliver on targets for clean energy and the decarbonisation of buildings. We heard of significant efforts by the Danish …

Response attribution not verified

#1 — Skilled labour supply insufficient to meet demand for clean energy and decarbonised buildings.

Energy Security and Net Zero Committee

Recommendation: The supply of skilled labour does not currently match the levels of demand expected to be required if the UK is to fulfil Government’s ambitions to deliver clean energy by 2030 and decarbonised buildings by 2050. (Conclusion, Paragraph 29)

Response attribution not verified

#12 — Consult the transport manufacturing sector on a ‘competency passport’ approach for worker transferability.

Transport Committee

Recommendation: Skilled workers face significant barriers when trying to move across and within areas of transport manufacturing. This is especially frustrating when employers report persistent skills shortages. Skills England should by the end of 2026 consult the transport manufacturing sector on …

Response attribution not verified

#6 —

Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee

Recommendation: In its response to this report, the government should update us on its unilateral activities to support UK artists working and touring in the EU. We recommend the government looks at all available options to help touring artists manage the …

Response attribution not verified

#4 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: The veterinary profession remains reliant on international recruitment to fill critical roles, particularly in public health and official veterinary services. While international vets have made a vital contribution, this “learned dependency” has masked underlying weaknesses in domestic workforce planning and …

Response status not verified

#2 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: While recruitment has stabilised and the arrival of new entrants through the pipeline has increased, significant and persistent gaps remain in public sector roles, geographically isolated practices and other “deficit areas”. High attrition rates and a “constant churn” in some …

Response status not verified

#1 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Workforce pressures in the veterinary profession are no longer driven primarily by an overall shortage of qualified individuals, but by challenges in retention, distribution and alignment with specific roles. At our evidence session at Harper Adams University, all four senior …

Response status not verified

#49 —

Education Committee

Recommendation: We join with the higher education sector in welcoming that the UK will be associating with the Erasmus+ programme from 2027. (Conclusion, Paragraph 249)

Response attribution not verified

#34 —

Education Committee

Recommendation: The Union Learning Fund is a crucial programme for delivering workplace training. It has a strong track record of proven effectiveness and should be treated in line with other training providers in both the public and private spheres. It has …

Response attribution not verified

#31 —

Education Committee

Recommendation: The Department must make the case for a three-year funding settlement for community learning at the next spending review. The Department should review and consolidate the many community learning funding streams to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy for providers. (Paragraph 83) Employer-led …

Response attribution not verified

#29 —

Education Committee

Recommendation: The Department must work with the adult education sector to develop a better understanding of what data exists on community learning and where any gaps might be. This should include mapping and regularly publishing data on how many community learning …

Response attribution not verified

#23 —

Education Committee

Recommendation: The Department’s lifelong learning strategy must include an ESOL element. The Department should take a lead role for adult ESOL strategy to ensure a more joined up approach to cross-Department ESOL funding and objectives. The Department must undertake analysis to …

Response attribution not verified

#18 —

Education Committee

Recommendation: The Department should extend the entitlement to a free level 3 qualification further, so that unemployed adults who already have a level 3 are fully funded to retrain at level 3 in priority skills sectors.

Response attribution not verified

#16 —

Education Committee

Recommendation: The Department should remove funding restrictions for first full level 2 qualifications, restoring funding for adults who are over 24 and employed. The Department must fund a promotional campaign to ensure no adult remains unaware of what qualifications and funding …

Response attribution not verified

#5 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: By focusing on academic qualifications, the new immigration policy takes a narrow focus on skills, although we welcome the Government’s decision to reduce the threshold to the equivalent of A-levels or Scottish Highers (RQF3/SCQF6). We are concerned that this policy …

Response attribution not verified

#3 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: The example of the veterinarian sector highlights the important role that overseas- trained employees undertake in the food supply chain, in this case working in abattoirs that are unattractive to UK-trained vets. In addition, these Official Veterinarians face an increase …

Response attribution not verified

#2 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: The UK is competing globally for skilled labour, the availability of which is vital to the ongoing success of the UK food supply chain. It is important therefore that bureaucracy and fees are minimised, and their impact kept under review. …

Response attribution not verified

#8 —

Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee

Recommendation: The UK has long occupied an important place in Europe’s live music ecosystem, and has traditionally been a starting point for tours creating work for UK-based freelancers and suppliers. The substantial UK-based infrastructure, including haulage, for tours and festivals is …

Response attribution not verified

#32 —

Environmental Audit Committee

Recommendation: We recommend that by the end of 2021, the Skills and Productivity Board, or similar body, is tasked with ongoing monitoring of skills needs, with regular periodic reviews, to ensure forward-looking and responsive skills planning which encompasses the needs of …

Response attribution not verified

#31 —

Environmental Audit Committee

Recommendation: Without closely monitoring current and future skills needs and shortages across the net zero transition, there is a risk that today’s courses and training are not addressing the demands of the future. This monitoring needs to be ongoing, to respond …

Response attribution not verified

#11 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: Given the labour shortages facing the food and farming sector, we are surprised that the Government chose to ignore its own Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) advice on which roles should be added to the Shortage Occupation List (SOL). While we …

Response attribution not verified

#5 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: The Government’s temporary short-term visa schemes for poultry workers, pork butchers and HGV drivers were seriously deficient. They were implemented too late, with many workers unable to arrive in time to help the sector prepare for Christmas and avoid poultry …

Response attribution not verified

#1 —

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Recommendation: The evidence we have received leaves us in no doubt that labour shortages, caused by Brexit and accentuated by the pandemic, have badly affected businesses across the food and farming sector. If not resolved swiftly, they threaten to shrink the …

Response attribution not verified

#13 —

Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee

Recommendation: We recommend that the Government should negotiate an agreement with the EU to provide a single-entry document for performers to submit to any EU country they wish to visit. (Paragraph 57) Resources

Response attribution not verified