2/9/2014 House of Commons Library Should the income threshold take regional differences into account? Some have argued that there should be variable income thresholds to reflect differences in wages and living costs across the UK (and overseas). Research published in June 2014 by the Migrants’ Rights Network, which opposes the minimum income requirement, found 74 parliamentary constituencies where the £18,600 income requirement was higher than the earnings of 50% or more of all residents in employment. http://www.parliament.uk/Templates/BriefingPapers/Pages/BPPdfDownload.aspx?bp-id=sn06724
When the Migration Advisory Committee looked into this (which was before the government set the income level) they reckoned that 45% of all visa applicants would not be able to meet the new income requirements.
