Impact case study database

Our research focus has primarily been on the immigration policies that are best suited to Scotland. Whilst control over immigration policy has largely been retained by the UK Government, the Scottish Government and key stakeholders in Scotland and the wider UK (supported by our research) have consistently argued for greater autonomy in this respect. Our research has shaped and substantiated the specific policies and policy stance of Scottish policymakers and a diverse range of stakeholders in Scotland and the rest of the UK with regards to migration issues. Related to this, our research has spearheaded wider political debates around immigration policy towards labour and international student migration . It has also informed citizen understanding of issues relating to migration and constitutional change. Our impact in each of these areas is detailed below.

1. Informing the public of Scottish immigration issues

We have widely promoted our research insights (R2, R4, R5) into the opportunities and challenges associated with a ‘Scottish’ immigration policy to a diverse audience. This includes the popular media such as BBC Sunday Politics programme, The Guardian Live Chat; debates attended by the general public and journalists, including the Edinburgh Festival of Politics, David Hume Institute, Spring seminar The Politicians and Professionals series; and popular outputs orientated towards informing citizen understanding of social issues and democratic participation, including The Conversation (readership: approximately 27,000,000) and the ESRC Society Today magazine (readership: approximately 17,000). Our Centre for Population Change (CPC) Working and Briefing papers on these issues feature in the ‘top three’ most downloaded lists for the research centre since its inception in 2009 (600,000 downloads for CPC outputs in this period, S1, p. 5). Likewise, our invited chapter in the e-book Scotland’s Decision: 16 Questions to think about before the Referendum was downloaded more than 100,000 times in the 6-week period (S1, p. 2) leading up to the Scottish independence vote.

1. Enriching Scottish policies and policy stances on migration

Based on established and ongoing dialogues, as well as working with knowledge exchange professionals in the CPC and Future of the UK and Scotland programmes, we have been able to maximise the impact of our findings in the policy realm. Our research findings demonstrated that Scotland merits a distinct immigration policy. Illustration of how this could work in practice was discussed by Prof Findlay at his invited appearance at the House of Commons’ Scottish Affairs Committee on Demography of Scotland and the Implications of Devolution in 2016 (S2). His recommendations were cited in the Final Report of the UK Parliamentary Inquiry, in which the Committee called on the UK and Scottish Governments to continue to work together to tackle Scotland's demographic challenges (S2). Our research (R1, R2, R4, R6) has been cited in numerous migration policy reports by and for the Scottish Government (S3). Accordingly, the Scottish Government has confirmed that: “such evidence and insight has helped inform the Scottish Government’s thinking and development of its policy positions on and how best to meet Scotland’s migration needs.” (S4)

Our assertation that Scotland is ‘different’ from other parts of the UK with regards to migration has been widely used to make the political case for supporting the reintroduction of the post-work study visa for international students in Scotland. It was directly quoted by Jayne Baxter, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, and James Dornan, MSP Glasgow Cathcart, to support these calls in a debate in the Scottish Parliament on the Post-Study Work Visa (PSWV) on 24^th March 2015. Baxter said, “ In Scotland, we have a different way of looking at immigration. David McCollum from the University of St Andrews said: ‘ The character of immigration in Scotland is distinctive in terms of both the nature of immigration flows and social attitudes to immigration ... Scotland is dependent on migration for demographic stability and growth to a greater extent than the other constituent countries of the UK.’ [So] The UK Government’s policy is coming at much too high a cost across the whole of the UK and has an even worse effect in Scotland” (S5, pp. 77-78).

Calls for the reintroduction of the PSWV (since reinstated in the form of the new Graduate Immigration Route), based on and citing our research (R3), have since been consistently echoed by a broad coalition of research users. These diverse beneficiaries include learned societies such as The Royal Society of Edinburgh, Universities UK, the Scottish Government, the National Union of Students and the Migration Advisory Committee. For example, the Royal Society of Edinburgh said “your research-based contributions have helped to inform and strengthen our responses to the Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) calls for evidence, including on the international impacts on international students in the UK (January 2019) and on a points-based immigration system and salary threshold (November 2019).” (S6)

1. Providing evidence for policy makers and practitioners on migration

Enabled by our reputation as leading ‘go to’ experts in Scotland on migration, our team has had frequent collaborations with policy stakeholders aimed at directly communicating the practical lessons and implications of our research. For example, in May 2017 Prof. Findlay and Dr McCollum were amongst a small group of invited experts to an all-day Scottish Government - Europa Institute roundtable event on “Meeting Scotland’s Immigration Needs in the Context of Brexit”. The meeting directly informed the Scottish Governments position on EU migrants and free movement post-Brexit (S4). We have worked closely with the COSLA Strategic Migration Partnership concerning our research findings and their implications, which they have used to help local authorities prepare for and respond to migration : “Our collaborative work [with St Andrews] has provided local authorities with a better understanding of migration in their local areas, which has influenced integration policy and service provision.” (Chief Officer of the COSLA Migration, Population and Diversity Team) (S7).

One of these lessons concerned the impact on international students in the UK and our research has been utilised in a wide range of policy arenas addressing this issue. It directly informed the MAC’s 2018 recommendations to the UK Government with regards its policy on international students (S8, p. 37). Our work was also quoted in Call for Evidence submissions to this MAC report from the Greater London Authority (S8, pp. 283 & 286) and the Royal Society of Edinburgh (S8, pp. 498 & 506) to warn that the UK risks becoming less competitive in the market for international students due to restrictive immigration policy and rhetoric. Our research is also used in the 2014 MAC report on Migrants in Low Skilled Work to evidence the role of migration and recruitment agencies in the functioning of the low-wage economy, with the MAC calling for enhanced regulation of recruitment practices in these sectors based on our findings (S8 pp.118, 136, 138, 142 & 166). These contributions are significant because the MAC is the Public Body that is sponsored by the Home Office to directly advise the UK Government on immigration policy. Our work was also cited in the Unite 2015 submission to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the Scottish Agricultural Wages Board, which is a Public Body which sets minimum standards of pay and conditions in the sector, including for (often seasonal) migrant workers. This and other evidence were successfully used to argue for the preservation of this Board: “ The evidence in favour of retaining the Scottish Agriculture Wages Board is compelling” (Rural Affairs Secretary, December 2015, S9).

Prof. Kulu has served on the Scottish Government’s influential 5-member Expert Advisory Group on Migration and Population since its inception in 2018. It directly advises the Scottish Government on immigration policy and their evidence has helped them to argue that the UK’s proposed immigration policy post-Brexit poses specific demographic and economic risks to Scotland (S4). For example, the Scottish Government’s Public Finance and Migration Minister, Ben Macpherson, said: “Evidence from our Expert Advisory Group on Population formed the basis of our February policy paper Migration Helping Scotland Prosper, which irrefutably shows that Scotland’s migration needs are distinct from the rest of the UK.” (S10). This high-profile policy paper details how a tailored migration policy would operate to meet Scotland's distinct demographic needs and effectively forms the basis of the Scottish Government’s immigration policy. It was showcased by the First Minister for Scotland at a launch event in Edinburgh on 27^th January 2020 to widespread political, public and media attention (S11).