The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Migration study ‘to look at all of the UK’
Home secretary vows Scotland’s needs will be taken into account
A major assessment of migration from the European Union (EU) to help develop the post-Brexit immigration system will take into account different needs across the UK, the home secretary has said.
Amber Rudd has commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to carry out a detailed analysis of the role of EU nationals in the UK economy and society.
Speaking on a visit to Troon, South Ayrshire, she said the Scottish Government would be expected to contribute to the assessment.
Questioned if the study would examine differences around the UK such as the need in Scotland, she said: “Yes, of course, that’s exactly what we want the MAC to do.
“We want it to look across the whole country, different regions, of course to Scotland, and also to different industries, so that we make sure that when we set our policy it continues to support employment, growth and prosperity.”
The study will focus on patterns of migration from Europe, considering factors including regional distribution, skill levels and seasonal workers, and will produce interim reports before the final analysis in September 2018.
Writing to Professor Alan Manning, chairman of the MAC, the home secretary will say that under a future system “we will be able to apply different immigration rules and requirements according to the UK’s economic and social needs”.
Junior Brexit minister Robin Walker said in Edinburgh that Scotland’s interests would be heard “loud and clear” in the new immigration system.