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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/sep/18/brexit-eu-citizens-special-access-migration-advisory-committee
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| Brexit should end EU citizens' special access to UK, says report | Brexit should end EU citizens' special access to UK, says report |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Free movement from the EU should end after Brexit and the UK should embrace a Canada-style system in which there is no preferential access to the labour market for citizens of any other country, according to the government’s migration advisory committee (MAC). | Free movement from the EU should end after Brexit and the UK should embrace a Canada-style system in which there is no preferential access to the labour market for citizens of any other country, according to the government’s migration advisory committee (MAC). |
| The report, which is intended to advise ministers on how to proceed after Brexit, concedes it may not be possible to achieve a country-neutral system because the UK may not have an entirely free hand in determining migration policy after the it leaves the EU because the final policy will be subject to exit negotiations. | |
| It concludes that if “immigration is not to be part of the negotiations with the EU, and the UK is deciding its migration system in isolation, we recommend moving to a system in which all immigration is managed with no preferential access to EU citizens”. It said the model would be similar to that used in Canada, which had “an open, welcoming approach to migration but no free movement agreement with any other country”. | |
| The committee was set up by Amber Rudd, when she was home secretary, to inform the UK’s migration policy after Brexit. It is designed to inform a white paper that has repeatedly been delayed but is due this autumn. | The committee was set up by Amber Rudd, when she was home secretary, to inform the UK’s migration policy after Brexit. It is designed to inform a white paper that has repeatedly been delayed but is due this autumn. |
| EU citizens have, until now, been able to enter the UK freely, seeking work on arrival, and concerns about the impact of free movement is considered to be one of the central reasons why the country voted for Brexit. But the report is likely to strengthen the hand of those who wanted the UK to take a tough stance in the Brexit negotiations. | EU citizens have, until now, been able to enter the UK freely, seeking work on arrival, and concerns about the impact of free movement is considered to be one of the central reasons why the country voted for Brexit. But the report is likely to strengthen the hand of those who wanted the UK to take a tough stance in the Brexit negotiations. |
| The MAC report says there has a been small impact on wages and employment in the UK, arguing it has had “neither the large negative effects claimed by some, nor the benefits claimed by others”. | |
| But it also argues that because “the biggest gainers from migration are often the migrants themselves”, British ministers should see preferential access to the UK labour market as “something of value to offer in the negotiations” with the EU over the UK’s exit. | But it also argues that because “the biggest gainers from migration are often the migrants themselves”, British ministers should see preferential access to the UK labour market as “something of value to offer in the negotiations” with the EU over the UK’s exit. |
| Any future policy determined by the UK should favour higher-skilled workers over lower-skilled ones, the MAC advises, and says there should be no sector specific migration schemes except possibly for one to supply seasonal labour in agriculture. | Any future policy determined by the UK should favour higher-skilled workers over lower-skilled ones, the MAC advises, and says there should be no sector specific migration schemes except possibly for one to supply seasonal labour in agriculture. |
| Jonathan Portes, senior fellow at the thinktank The UK in a Changing Europe, whose research fed into the report, said: “Contrary to fears that immigration might reduce the incentive for businesses to boost productivity, my paper suggests the opposite: immigration has a substantial and positive impact on productivity. Areas that see inflows of immigrants see productivity rise. | |
| “What does that mean for policy? The MAC are too polite to say so, but this report shows beyond doubt that the government’s economically illiterate net migration target should finally be put out of its misery. After Brexit, we will need immigration – for growth, productivity, and not least to help the public finances – more than ever.” | |
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