Companies have been clamouring for clarity from the Government on the issue as the academic sector, agriculture, manufacturing and the hospitality trade all rely on large influxes of people to operate. The Confederation of British Industry says employers "urgently" need answers while the Institute of Directors calls the report "long overdue". Consider the timescale: the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is made up of one chairman (Professor Alan Manning from the London School of Economics) and three independent economists who now have to commission data and solicit responses from industry and Government.

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