The UK Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC) published a revised opinion on 13 October declaring the Home Office’s impact assessment for the Immigration and Asylum Bill ‘fit for purpose’ after earlier criticism. The RPC’s green rating clears a key procedural hurdle and increases the likelihood that measures affecting employers – notably a new public-interest test for Article 8 cases and enhanced modern-slavery supply-chain reporting – will become law in 2027. The committee nonetheless questions whether familiarisation costs have been underestimated, pointing out that some 22,000 large businesses will need to update compliance systems to meet stricter reporting deadlines and potential civil penalties of up to £1 million. It also highlights possible labour-market impacts if tighter Article 8 rules reduce overall immigration by around 10,000 people. For mobility leaders, the opinion signals that corporate compliance workloads will rise: HR, legal and procurement teams will have to refresh modern-slavery statements, map supply chains with greater precision and train staff once secondary legislation sets detailed requirements. Sponsors should also prepare for revised guidance on family-life and human-rights considerations when making discretionary visa decisions. Parliamentary watchers expect the Bill to complete committee stage by December, with Royal Assent likely by mid-2027. Businesses are advised to budget for policy-implementation projects in Q2 2027 and monitor forthcoming Home Office consultations on registry design and penalty benchmarks.
Source: GOV.UK – RPC opinion
