Graduate visas: Migration committee ‘strikes out on its own’

Nick Hillman looks at how universities got a hearing on risks to UK research

I am not a natural fan of the Migration Advisory Committee. It is said to be “independent” but has often seemed part and parcel of Whitehall—more specifically, the Home Office. 

The chair and members are picked by the Home Office, who decide the terms of reference of the committee and the work it undertakes, while the secretariat includes Home Office officials.