Migrant rules for hospitality and tourism must be relaxed by Priti Patel – Tim Farron

I MAY be biased, but I would argue that the hospitality and tourism industry in the Lake District and adjoining Yorkshire Dales is the best in the world.
Home Secretary Priti Patel has agreed to meet Tim Farron MP to discuss migration policy and its impact on the hospitality industry,Home Secretary Priti Patel has agreed to meet Tim Farron MP to discuss migration policy and its impact on the hospitality industry,
Home Secretary Priti Patel has agreed to meet Tim Farron MP to discuss migration policy and its impact on the hospitality industry,

It’s these very businesses that, against all the odds, have managed to fight and survive everything that was thrown at them during the pandemic.

Being told to close multiple times, enforce restrictions with little guidance and often with even less reason or common sense behind them, and with next to no financial support from the Chancellor for many, especially those who are self-employed.

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So I cannot begin to tell you how utterly frustrating and downright heart-breaking it is to see so many of these businesses now on their knees purely because they cannot find the staff needed to operate.

Tim Farron is Lib Dem MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale. He is also a former party leader.Tim Farron is Lib Dem MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale. He is also a former party leader.
Tim Farron is Lib Dem MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale. He is also a former party leader.

Every week I hear from bars, cafes, restaurants and pubs forced to close because of the staffing crisis.

The latest research found that 85 per cent of businesses in the sector are struggling with recruitment issues. Over half of these businesses that were surveyed cited the loss of European staff post-Brexit when trying to find staff.

That’s because at a time when businesses are looking to get back on their feet after an unbelievably brutal 18 months, this Government has decided to introduce new immigration rules which mean that it has become impossible to recruit the workforce businesses once could from the European Union.

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To add insult to injury, people in Cumbria or nearby are finding it impossible to work in the industry because they simply cannot afford a home here in the Lake District.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has agreed to meet Tim Farron MP to discuss migration policy and its impact on the hospitality industry,Home Secretary Priti Patel has agreed to meet Tim Farron MP to discuss migration policy and its impact on the hospitality industry,
Home Secretary Priti Patel has agreed to meet Tim Farron MP to discuss migration policy and its impact on the hospitality industry,

The explosion in number of second homes and holiday lets is pricing younger people out of the housing market. We have seen an increase in the number of holiday lets in my constituency of 32 per cent in the past 12 months. From talking to dozens of estate agents across the county, I know that the proportion of houses purchased during this period that are going into the second home market is anything from 40 to 80 per cent.

At the beginning of the pandemic, South Lakeland had an average household income of £26,000 and an average house price of £250,000, which shows a serious problem from the start. That problem has been massively exacerbated during this time.

Meanwhile I’m hearing more and more disturbing stories of local families being evicted from their home because their landlord has realised they can make a few quid more putting it on the holiday let market. In Ambleside, a local woman paying £700 a month in rent has been evicted by her landlord so they can make £1,000 a week on AirBnB. This cannot go on.

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So what’s the answer to these two big issues that are causing the staffing crisis?

Home Secretary Priti Patel has agreed to meet Tim Farron MP to discuss migration policy and its impact on the hospitality industry,Home Secretary Priti Patel has agreed to meet Tim Farron MP to discuss migration policy and its impact on the hospitality industry,
Home Secretary Priti Patel has agreed to meet Tim Farron MP to discuss migration policy and its impact on the hospitality industry,

Well one quick and sensible solution that I, and also many Conservative backbenchers are pushing for to address the problem of attracting overseas workers, is for the Government’s Youth Mobility Scheme visa to be extended to countries in Europe.

The scheme, which allows young people aged between 18 and 30 to come and work in Britain, is currently just available to people living in Australia, Canada, Monaco, New Zealand and San Marino. Why wouldn’t we want to give that same opportunity to young people in neighbouring countries who could help save so many local businesses from going under?

For recruiting local workers, we desperately need more affordable homes built. But our communities also need the powers to stop every home that goes on the market being sold as a ‘second home’ and the ability to limit the number of holiday homes. That’s why I am calling for new planning classes for both second homes and holiday lets, so people have to apply for permission before removing a home from the local housing stock.

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The Government therefore has a clear choice ahead of it. It can either stick with its ill-thought out visa rules and continue to sit on its hands when it comes to the second homes crisis, letting many more businesses go to the wall in the process, with thousands of local British workers losing their jobs as a result. Or it can start living in the real world, immediately change tack and save Britain’s economy from being crippled by its own stupid policies.

Last week, the Home Secretary agreed to meet with me and hospitality leaders to discuss these issues and the urgent need to solve them. I hope she listens.

Tim Farron is Lib Dem MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale. He is also a former party leader.

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