Farron: Migration has to be part of the solution to the labor shortage Pipa News

By Tim Farron

If we want to see economic growth, a good place to start is by addressing the labor shortage. I am glad that there appears to be – at least from the media headlines – some recognition by the Prime Minister that migration must be part of the solution. These shortfalls are visible in our country in sectors ranging from agriculture to hospitality, construction to health and social care… the list goes on.

Rural economies in areas such as my own constituency, which includes the Lake District, are heavily dependent on tourism and hospitality. But we continue to face the ongoing issue of skills, recruitment and retention. If you've visited the Lake District, you've most likely noticed shorter opening hours in cafes and restaurants because they don't have staff.

Over the years I have been raising this issue with the Conservative government, I have been told time and again that the answer lies with the education and training of our UK staff. I agree that we need to look at our local workforce first, although employers in Cumbria have spent the last 12 months trying a variety of things to attract workers; Increase pay, add benefits, get more training, better hours or accommodation for employees to live on site.

Cumbria Tourism is also working closely with the Department of Work and Pensions – supporting career events and working with partners to directly engage with schools and colleges. Despite all these initiatives, businesses in my constituency are struggling to survive or shut down. This has a huge impact on the local people who then also lose their jobs.

It is important that if we have to recruit from abroad, the safety of workers is central. Routes such as the Seasonal Worker Scheme – where workers are tied to one employer and do not have the freedom to change employers – are open to workers' exploitation. Very worrying is the recent report about Indonesian workers on a UK farm at risk of debt bondage.

Youth Mobility Visa is one such option where employees are free to move between employers and regions. I have taken up the expansion of this route with the immigration ministers but so far we have not seen it expanded substantially. That is why last week I wrote to the new Home Secretary Suella Braverman asking for a meeting to discuss youth mobility visas to address the labor shortage in Cumbria.

Meanwhile, we have over 85,000 people who have been waiting for more than 6 months for their asylum claim to be decided and banned from working. They have every right to stay in the UK while their asylum claim is considered, but because Home Office processing times are at a record high, they remain in limbo for months, even years , being forced to rely on asylum support payments.

Some of these people will be willing to work and there is no point that the government would prefer them to rely on state support rather than keeping their skills alive. Getting into employment sooner will put them in a better position to integrate and flourish in the UK when they receive refugee status. It's important to remember that the vast majority of them will be allowed to stay – the latest Home Office data shows that 76% of all asylum applications are allowed upon preliminary judgment.

I hope we can have a more pragmatic approach to addressing our labor shortage in the UK. Rural communities like mine need to work closely with the government to tackle this problem so that they can be free to flourish their business.

Tim Farron has been the Member of Parliament for Westmoreland and Lonsdale since 2005, and served as leader of the Liberal Democrat Party from 2015 to 2017. Tim is the host of the “A Mucky Business” podcast, and he has a new book. A Lucky Business: Why Christians Should Get Involved in Politics Published in November.