A committee has advised the British government to revise the salary threshold for immigration, while also was cautious of Primer Minister Boris Johnson's plan for a points-based system used in Australia said a BBC report. Skilled migrants from outside the EU currently need to have a job offer with a minimum salary of £30,000, according to the BBC report. It said the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) had advised the government to cut it to £25,600 for all workers to help recruit teachers and skilled NHS staff. The MAC also said the government's proposal for a points-based immigration system would reduce economic growth. Johnson had called for a new system — based on the scheme in Australia — during his summer campaign to lead the Conservative Party and made it a key pledge during the election. The report cited Professor Alan Manning, chair of the committee, as syaing: "No perfect system exists and there are unavoidable, difficult trade-offs. The largest impacts will be in low-wage sectors and the government needs to be clear about its plans for lower-skilled work migration." The committee criticized the UK's current complex immigration system where EU workers can come in without a job offer or specific skill under freedom of movement rules, while people from the rest of the world must seek one of many different visas. It said the UK's post-Brexit system should allow entry to workers from all over the world with skills that are in demand, but also take into account many of them would not earn enough to meet the current salary test. The report said: "Many stakeholders would prefer there to be no salary thresholds beyond the minimum wage." But the committee believed the threshold stopped the undercutting of the labor market, ensured migrants made a net positive contribution to the public finances, and made sure migration policy supported the "ambition to make the UK a high wage, high skill, high productivity economy". The MAC said its proposals would benefit the UK economy, but warned there could be a rise in pressures in social care because of a shortage of low-skilled workers. But businesses have cautioned flexibility in any new system to ensure they can get the workers they need. — Agencies
