Brexit and the Labour Market

The United Kingdom Government will struggle to take control of immigration post-Brexit unless major improvements are made to the quality of migration data upon which it currently relies, the Economic Affairs Committee of the House of Lords said in its report into Brexit and the Labour Market published in July 2017.

Key findings
In order to address the problem with the migration data the Committee recommends the Government should:

+ Use information relating to the economic activity of immigrants – such as paying tax or receiving benefits – to gain a clearer understanding of how long migrants stay in the UK.
+ Explore how information from exit checks, which have been reintroduced, can be combined with other information. This should help to address the unreliability of the International Passenger Survey (IPS).
+ Devise a better way of accounting for the departure of international students. The current approach cannot calculate, with any precision, how many students stay at the end of their degree.

Other findings and recommendations from the report include:

+ Using a strict annual numerical target risks causing disruption to businesses and the economy. Reducing net migration is likely to be best achieved by a flexible approach which can adapt to the needs of businesses and the labour market.
+ An implementation period when EU workers can be employed easily is particularly important for sectors with a high turnover of staff, such as social care and nursing.
+ The Government should no longer include students in any short-term net migration figures for public policy purposes.

• Primary Source

UK: Parliament: House of Lords: Committees: Economic Affairs Committee: News, 21.07.17: Immigration policies being formulated in the dark, say Lords committee http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/economic-affairs-committee/news-parliament-2017/brexit-labour-market/

BBC News, 21.07.17: Migration policy risks being made in the dark, peers warn http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40674332

ESO: Background information: Implementing Brexit: Immigration (IFG Analysis, May 2017) http://www.europeansources.info/record/implementing-brexit-immigration/

ESO: Background information: Building Globally Successful Societies. The case for immigration. A Global Future Report, May 2017 http://www.europeansources.info/record/building-globally-successful-societies-the-case-for-immigration-a-global-future-report-may-2017/

ESO: In Focus: Brexit - The United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/

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