EU Exit ReadinessStewart Matthews

DfE EU Exit Stakeholder ForumDfE established a stakeholder group in June 2017 to allow the Department to seek stakeholder views and to discuss how best to work together as EU Exit advances.

Membership of this Forum includes senior representatives from the business community, the voluntary & community sector, and from a wide range of sectors such as universities, retail, colleges, food, trade union and local chambers of commerce. NI Tourism Alliance has recently become a member of this Forum.

The group serves a dual function:

• Keep stakeholders informed of EU Exit developments and facilitate their engagement with decision makers regarding EU exit.

• Provide an opportunity for Stakeholders to feed in information and assessment to inform DfE analysis, and to validate/ add strength to messages being relayed to decision makers in Whitehall.

DfE continues to gather business intelligence around EU Exit issues that could affect key sectors of the Northern Ireland economy, and to communicate this information to Whitehall in order that the Northern Ireland position is taken account of as policy development continues. This forum has been so successful that it has been used as the basis for an NICS Stakeholder forum.

Invest NI• Invest NI has launched a Brexit assessment tool (available to everyone) which is designed to

help you assess how well prepared your business is for Brexit. The seven areas covered in the Brexit assessment tool are: Business strategy, Operations, Innovation, Sales and marketing, Finance, People and management, Legal and regulatory.

• Invest NI has also introduced a Brexit Preparation Grant which is available to qualifying customers which provides financial assistance (up to a maximum of £50,000 at a rate of up to 50%, to plan for the post-Brexit environment) to their customers to prepare for the changes and challenges presented by Brexit.

• Invest NI have arranged 3 EU Exit Events 24 – 26th Sept in Armagh, Belfast and Omagh which will Include HMT and the Border Delivery Group.

• Further detailed information can be found on Invest NI’s Web page.

InterTradeIreland• InterTradeIreland has a ‘Planning Voucher’ scheme offering 100% financial support

up to £2000/€2250 towards professional advice in relation to Brexit matters. This

support can help SMEs get advice on specific issues such as movement of labour,

goods, services and currency management. They also offer a second voucher ‘Brexit

Implementation’ which provides financial support up to £5,000/€5,625 with

InterTradeIreland paying 50% to allow businesses to implement critical changes.

• InterTradeIreland offers a tailor made on-line EU Exit learning tool and also a tariff

checker.

• InterTradeIreland has launched its “Bitesize Brexit” campaign, offering business

quick, practical online steps.

• For more detailed information please visit InterTradeIreland Website.

• Despite the support available, many businesses, particularly Small and Medium sized companies, have not begun to address the key business issues they could potentially face, particularly in a no deal scenario. This is an issue of real concern.

• DfE have taken every opportunity during meetings across Whitehall to highlight the frustration that is being felt locally and the NICS will continue its engagement with businesses to ensure the particular issues faced by our businesses are well understood, considered and addressed and that every possible step is taken to minimise the consequences which a No Deal scenario would have on the NI business base

Next Steps?• The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is leading on a 'One

Govt' Brexit Readiness Roadshow: A series of 30 events taking place throughout the UK including two in NI. The first event will take place on the 16th of September with a launch event taking place the week before on the 9th. The NI events will be held in Derry City Hotel on 7th Oct and the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Belfast, 8 October.

• Invest NI have arranged 3 EU Exit Events 24 – 26th Sept in Armagh, Belfast and Omagh which will Include HMT and the Border Delivery Group. InterTradeIreland are hosting

• InterTradeIreland have arranged 3 EU Exit “Drop In” Events in Sept & Oct to be held in Newry, Cookstown and Omagh

• BEIS have also launched a Business Readiness Fund to help UK businesses prepare for a no-deal Brexit. https://www.gov.uk/brexit-business-grants. NI applications will have to prove additionality to existing engagement and Invest NI will have an oversight role on reviewing NI applications.

Future skills-based immigration system

EU Exit, Trade and Migration Division

Ian Getgood

Previous Executive Positions

FM/dFM letter of 10 August 2016 to the Prime Minister:

• “the need to retain access to labour and that policies need to be sufficiently

flexible to allow access to skills at all levels…this applies not only to

businesses and the private sector but also to public sector employers who

are heavily dependent on EU and other migrant labour.”

Racial Equality Strategy 2015 – 2025:

• “The Executive will continue to work towards an immigration policy that

recognises and takes account of our different needs and concerns

here…..working to reflect our regionally specific needs in the development

and implementation of UK immigration policy.”

The Evidence Base – some key statistics

• Statistically significant decrease in EU26 born people employed in NI from 58,000 to 40,000 between 2016 and 2019 – approx. 30% decrease.

• Sectors which employ high proportions of EU26 workers are food manufacturing (22%), waste collection (15%), other manufacturing (9.7%), hospitality (7.6%).

• 13% of EU26 workers employed in senior managerial or professional occupations and 45% employed as operatives or in elementary occupations.

Key messages

• Access to skills/labour a critically important issue for employers

• Need to retain access to skills at all levels - Public & Private Sectors.

• Not just an economic matter – need to recognise contribution to society here.

• Border dimension - ability of NI businesses to attract/retain labour vis-à-vis counterparts in RoI and how that might effect future investment decisions.

• FDI – impact on NI’s competitive talent offering.

• Wage rate differentials across the UK – in particular in the private sector.

• NI Economy at different stage of development - £30K threshold more problematic.

• Coherence with NI Industrial Strategy and PfG aims – need to ensure that economic shocks do not set us off course.

• Systems designed for short term migration mitigate against broader policy objectives (e.g. developing high quality social care, social integration)

Immigration White Paper

White Paper for the new Immigration System, due to come into effect on 1 January 2021, published December 2018. Key points:

• Commitments re “unique perspectives and challenges” of DAs – unique position of land border with EU referenced.

• Commitment to CTA reasserted.

• Single nationality blind route admitting only highly skilled from all countries.

• Immigration Cap and Resident Labour Market Test to be removed.

• Will engage business to determine the level of salary threshold (£30k proposed).

• Expansion in eligible skill levels (Degree level to A level equivalent).

• SOL – Invitation to the MAC to compile a list for Northern Ireland.

• Transitional measure proposing a time-limited (12 months max.) route for temporary short term workers to come to UK–cooling off period of further 12 months.

Immigration White Paper – The UKs future skills-based immigration system - engagement

• Current ongoing 12 month engagement with devolved administrations on the Immigration White Paper;

• Home Office held several sectoral sessions in April. We expect further opportunities for stakeholders to engage in coming months.

• Home Office has also set up five Advisory groups which meet monthly to take stakeholder feedback : Employers; Education; National – to take input from the Devolved Administrations; Vulnerability; and Crossing the Border.

• Monthly meeting with Devolved Administration officials in parallel

Migration Advisory Committee – Salary Threshold and Points-based system

• Stakeholder feedback on White Paper has been clear that the proposed £30k threshold will not work for all parts of UK.

• UKG have commissioned MAC to advise on a suitable salary threshold.

• Issues for consideration: Regional variations; Exceptions to threshold (Shortage Occupation List?); Jobs of high public value; Part-time workers.

• This commission will also consider how an ‘Australian-style’ points-based system might work here and has asked stakeholders to rank the importance of potential attributes e.g. Age, Experience, Salary.

• Online tool to respond.

• Stakeholder session provisionally arranged for 25 October 2019.

Immigration in the No Deal Scenario:

EU nationals in the UK prior to EU Exit will be able to remain by applying via the Settled Status scheme. However in a No Deal scenario:

• Free movement of people will, to all intents and purposes, continue past 31 October.

• As the Immigration Bill has not received Royal Assent – EEA nationals continue to be able to enter, live, work and study as they do now until 31 December 2020.

• This cohort will also be able to apply for a 36 month temporary immigration status –European Temporary Leave to Remain (ETLR) up to 31 December 2020.

• Will be required to apply via new immigration system if they wish to remain in the UK after ELTR has expired.

• New future immigration system to come into effect January 2021 – some elements likely to be phased in.

• No immigration points at NI/ROI Border.

Common Travel Area & Citizens’ Rights

• UK & Irish Governments have made firm commitment to protecting CTA arrangements.• Irish citizens continue to have right to enter, live and work in UK without permission

and access education, social security benefits, health care social housing and voting rights on the basis of UK citizens and vice versa.

• CTA rights only apply to UK and Irish nationals.• All other nationals travelling in the CTA require an immigration status to enter the UK.• UKG has committed to no additional immigration checks post EU Exit.

EU Settlement Scheme• Any EEA National in the UK can before EU Exit can remain in the UK and broadly retain

the right they currently have by applying via the Settlement Scheme.• Those here for five years or more will be awarded Settled Status with others being

awarded pre-settled status until they accrue five years.• Irish nationals may apply via the Settlement Scheme but are not required to do so as

they have unique rights under the CTA arrangements.• Applications must be made by end of June 2021 (deal) or December 2020 (no deal)

Next Steps

• DfE, alongside other NI Departments continuing to:

o engage with stakeholders;

o build and improve the evidence base;

o work with Home Office during the 12 month programme of engagement.

• Highlighting the unique circumstances in NI that need to be protected in the future, post-EU exit landscape.

• If there are areas of work mentioned today where you think you can deepen our knowledge and understanding then please share it with us.

• Questions?

Contacts and Links

• Ian.getgood@economy-ni.gov.uk or

• EUExitMigration@economy-ni.gov.uk

MAC Responses• https://www.executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk/publications/hocs-response-migration-advisory-

committee-consultation

• https://www.executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk/publications/hocs-response-migration-advisory-committee-consultation-2019

MAC Salary Threshold/Points-based System Commission• https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/salary-threshold-and-points-based-

system-pbs-commission-call-for-evidence

• https://www.homeofficesurveys.homeoffice.gov.uk/s/mac_latestcommissionsignup/