Supplementary memorandum by the Home Office
How did you select and determine the relative
weight (ie the maximum points) of the various criteria in the
new points-based system (especially in Tiers 1 and 2). How will
this mechanism respond to changing economic conditions such as
an economic downturn?
In tier 1, the points scoring structure is flexible
and is based on criteria that will indicate success in the labour
market. For tier 2, qualifications and prospective earnings are
used to identify the best migrants to fill gaps in the UK labour
market. If an applicant claims fewer points in one area, they
can make up for it by claiming more points in another. This inherent
flexibility will enable us to be responsive to changing economic
conditions by amending either the criteria themselves or the relative
points weighting of criteria. We will be monitoring the impact
of the Points Based System (PBS). Our policy will also be informed
by advice from the Migration Advisory Committee and the Migration
Impacts Forum to ensure that the system continues to benefit the
UK economy and that it takes account of the wider impacts.
The proposed points table for highly skilled
migrants, tier 1, was published last year in the Statement of
Intent. We analysed a sample of Highly Skilled Migrant Programme
Further Leave to Remain (FLR) applications taken from the first
quarter of 2005. At this point we were able to get an indication
of what the migrants were doing in the UK and thus whether the
scheme was bringing in migrants who are both highly skilled and
able to successfully integrate into the UK labour market. The
data clearly demonstrated that the previous earnings criterion
was the strongest predictor of labour market success.
We are satisfied that people with qualifications
at degree level and above will best meet the aims of this category
to attract those who through their skills (human capital) contribute
to increasing productivity and, as a result, raise the trend rate
of economic growth.
Tier 2 is for those skilled workers who have
received a job offer from a UK employer. Having undertaken analysis
of work permit applications and modelled a number of scenarios
the Government published an illustrative points table for tier
2 in the Command Paper "A Points Based System: Making Migration
Work for Britain".
The figures in this table are still undergoing
further modelling against up to date figures on work permit applications
and earning rates and qualifications in the wider economy. This
work will help us select weightings for the tier 2 criteria, particularly
qualifications and earnings, that help maximise migrants net benefit
to the British economy.
The Government will be publishing a Statement
of Intent for tier 2 in March 2008. This will provide further
detail on the weighting that will be given to the criteria for
this tier.
15 January 2008
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