Cutting EU migration will hit science, says committee

Recruitment to research roles will be affected by planned migration restrictions, according to evidence submitted to an ongoing review by the Migration Advisory Committee.

An interim report by the MAC, an independent group of advisers to the Home Office, says that large numbers of overseas academics teach science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects in the UK, and British institutions are already encountering difficulties in recruiting for such roles.

Subjects that already have a shortage of qualified research applicants include physics, chemistry, engineering, mathematics, genomics, molecular and clinical cancer, psychology and biomechanics, according to evidence gathered in the report.