FSB calls for rethink as it slams UK immigration plans

The White Paper calls for a single immigration system for the UK with limited reference to the specific needs of the Scottish economy, and the small business campaign group was joined by the Confederation of British Industry in Scotland in calling on UK Ministers to introduce a more flexible system that accommodates the skill needs of Scottish firms and the demographic demands of Scottish communities. 

In the white paper, the Government’s numerical cap on skilled workers - currently 20,700 a year - would be axed and replaced with a minimum salary threshold.

The post-Brexit immigration system will instead require small businesses who employ EU workers in future to, for the first time, use the UK’s points-based system.

According to FSB survey work, 95 per cent of smaller employers have never made use of this element of the immigration system.

UK ministers said provisions would be made for sectors reliant on lower skilled overseas labour, such as agriculture and food and drink.

The plan would be for tens of thousands of migrants to be given the chance to apply for a 12-month visa - a move in place until at least 2025.

The new skilled work route would be opened up to workers with ‘intermediate’ level skills - likely to cover occupations such as driving instructors, plumbers and restaurant managers.

In an effort to speed up the recruitment process, employers of skilled migrants would no longer be required to carry out a “resident labour market test”.

However, the FSB said the White Paper plans would not serve the need of Scottish business owners and it has written to the Secretary of State for Scotland outlining their concerns about the proposals.

Andrew McRae

Andrew McRae, FSB’s Scotland Policy Chair, said: “The UK Government’s obstinate approach to immigration is a clear threat to many of Scotland’s businesses and local communities. These proposals will make it nigh impossible for the vast majority of Scottish firms to access any non-UK labour and the skills they need to grow and sustain their operations.

“Smaller Scottish businesses hire EU citizens to work across a wide range of occupations – from carers to retail workers, from bar staff to engineers. Predominantly they do so by advertising a post and taking on the best person for a job, who almost always is already living in the country.

“Requiring employers to grapple with what is currently a clunky and costly immigration system to hire international talent will have significant implications for the small business community in Scotland. The risk is that this makes small business owners into de-facto immigration officers. 

“The proposed system also puts a lot of faith on Whitehall officials to predict the skills needs of a Dundonian manufacturer or a Highland hotelier years in advance. This reliance on state central planning is not the hallmark of a dynamic, responsive trading environment.”

Mr McRae added: “Over the next year, we need to see the UK Government listen to what Scottish businesses are telling them – that these proposals don’t suit our needs, nor the needs of our local communities, nor those of the Scottish economy.”

CBI Scotland director Tracy Black said: “A new immigration system must command public confidence and support the economies of all parts of the UK. These proposals would achieve neither.

“The proposals outlined in the White Paper don’t meet Scotland’s needs or the needs of the UK as a whole, and would be a sucker punch for many firms right across the country. The UK Government’s own analysis suggests people and regions will be poorer as a result of them.

“The Government cannot indulge in selective hearing. It tunes in to business evidence on a disastrous Brexit no deal, but tunes out from the economic damage of draconian blocks on access to vital overseas workers.

“The facts are clear. Brexit is cutting off the ability to recruit and retain staff for 9 out of 10 firms. Despite firms across the UK spending over £45 billion in training each year, staff shortages are already biting. Hospitals, housebuilders and retailers are all struggling to find the people they need at salaries well below £30,000.

Ms Black added: “These proposals must change. And when a new system that will work is agreed, businesses across the UK must be given time to adapt. This means at least two years to implement the changes after the rules are finalised.       

“Further consultation is needed to get this right for the whole of the UK, otherwise calls for devolved and regional immigration policies will only grow louder.”