To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Migration Advisory Committee’s review of the Shortage Occupation List will be asked to consider the potential merits of treating occupations at qualification Level 1 and qualification Level 2 the same.
Answered on
30 March 2022
The Government intends to commission the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to undertake a review of the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) later this year. The exact terms of the commission will be set out in a letter to the Chair of the MAC and will be published on GOV.UK, in line with the approach taken for previous SOL commissions.
More broadly, acting upon advice from the MAC, the Government broadened out the skills threshold of the Skilled Worker route to include occupations at RQF level 3 and lowered the general salary threshold to £25,600. The MAC’s modelling suggests the new threshold strikes a reasonable balance between controlling immigration and providing businesses access to labour.
Being on the SOL does not exempt an occupation from meeting the wider requirements of the Skilled Worker immigration route.