Brexit report to consider workforce impact

A report considering the impact of Brexit on the UK labour market will be published by government advisers later.

The Migration Advisory Committee considered the impact of migration from the EU on a range of areas including wages and unemployment.

More than 400 businesses, industry bodies and government departments gave evidence to the report, which is due to make a number of recommendations.

It was asked to do the research in July 2017 by then Home Secretary Amber Rudd.

The committee’s interim report, published in March, found that UK employers were “fearful” about what a future immigration system would look like after Brexit, with many viewing EU migrants as more motivated and flexible than UK-born workers.

The review will help the government draw up an immigration bill as part of expected changes to the system when the UK leaves the EU next March.

It comes as latest figures have shown that net migration from the EU is at its lowest level since 2012.

The number of EU citizens coming to the UK “looking for work” decreased by a third (33%) from 55,000 in 2016 to 37,000 in the last year.

Overall net migration, the difference between the number of people coming to live in the UK for at least 12 months and those emigrating, was 282,000.

The government wants to cut overall net migration to the tens of thousands.

The Migration Advisory Committee has already suggested that international students in the UK should not be removed from targets to reduce migration.

Last month, the Confederation of British Industry said net migration targets should be scrapped after Brexit and replaced with a system that ensures people coming to the UK make a positive contribution to the economy.

The business group said the contribution of EU workers to the UK economy was “profoundly important and will be needed in the future”, after the free movement of EU citizens comes to an end as part of Brexit.

It said EU citizens should be registered on arrival to the UK and restrict their visit to three months “unless they can prove that they are working, studying or are self-sufficient”.