Report

Reconciling UK migration policy with the energy transition

This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform looks at reconciling UK migration policy with the energy transition.

In the recently published immigration white paper, the British government promised to reduce net migration by only offering skilled worker visas to applicants with jobs that pay over £38,700 a year, and which require a degree or equivalent qualification.

That policy is in tension with two of its other missions – to build 1.5 million new houses by the end of the parliament in 2029, and to keep Britain on track for net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The net zero goal will require increasing numbers of workers, especially in construction, to decarbonise buildings and transport.

The previous migration regimes – free movement and limited visas for non-Europeans up to 2021, and then a relatively liberal regime for all foreign workers after – largely delivered enough workers to fill green jobs. But there are signs that labour demand for green jobs is growing, as measured by the number of job adverts, especially in energy, construction and skilled trades, such as double-glazing installers.

Many green occupations, especially in construction and skilled trades, do not meet the new salary and skills thresholds. Currently, around 260,000 foreign-born workers in jobs in which more than a third of working time is spent on green tasks would be ineligible under the government’s proposed salary and skills thresholds. Because it is physically demanding work, builders and skilled tradespeople can find it difficult to recruit enough workers. There is a risk that the salary and degrees thresholds tighten labour supply in these sectors too much, undermining the government’s housebuilding and net zero aims. 

The government should show flexibility in providing visas for workers needed to fulfil its missions. Under the plans outlined in the white paper, it will maintain a ‘temporary shortage list’ of occupations that are important to its aims, but in which labour shortages are appearing. That list will have lower salary or skills thresholds. However, given the fact that visa-holders can only switch to occupations that meet the higher thresholds, there is a risk that workers on the shortage list get taken advantage of by their employers, with bad working conditions and no career progression. If these problems arise, the government should consider reducing salary and skills thresholds for all workers, prioritising investment needs over its desire to cut immigration.