LDHA members set to discuss employment concerns at Westminster

Local MP Tim Farron followed through on his promise to arrange the meeting at Westminster which will be held on June 25th. Representatives Job Cobb, Jennifer Cormack and Stephen Broughton from Lake District Country Hotels, Windermere Lake Cruises and Lindeth Howe Hotel, will express their deep concerns about the proposed post-Brexit migrant salary controls and the effects these tight restrictions will have on the region.

The Government’s Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) plans to impose a minimum salary threshold of £30,000 per year on all EU workers. Those who are earning less may face real difficulties in winning the right to work in the UK.

The impact of this threshold on the industry is so significant UK Hospitality are lobbying for it to be lowered to £22,000. Although a step in the right direction, for the Lake District this threshold is still too high. Whilst some EU nationals occupy senior positions in industry, many work in operational roles. A survey shows that locally most EU workers are earning the national minimum wage or above, which is up to £5,000 less than lobbyists propose.

The 3 billion pound tourism industry is fundamental in keeping the Lake District's economy afloat. Hospitality and tourism sectors currently support around 15,000 jobs in Westmorland and Lonsdale and are massively dependent upon migrants to make up their workforce. Such stringent proposals by the MAC could have a serious impact not only locally but at a national level.

Cobb, Cormack and Broughton are all leading figures in the LDHA which recently undertook a salary survey to evidence up-to-date local statistics within the hospitality sector. It reveals that on average just 41% of staff in their businesses would meet the requirements to legally work if the plans went ahead. Plus, if non-EU migrant workers are included in the proposed salary threshold, this figure is depleted to just 37% of their current workforce.

The MAC is “seemingly disconnected with the effects this could have not just in the hospitality sector, but on food, transport, retail, health and social care and farming to name a few”, says Cobb, chairman of the LDHA. He wants to open the government's eyes to the immense contribution of EU workers make our local economy as a whole.

While MAC claims that there will be time to readjust after restrictions are introduced, Cobb argues that “59% of our staff are EU Nationals, we will be left with a gaping hole with nobody to fill the gap''. South Lakeland's unemployment figures are below the national average at 0.9%, and with Cumbria's working-age population projected to fall, this already small pool of local labour is set to shrink further. Thus, the departure of migrant workers certainly has potential for major  repercussions.

The meeting in Westminster this June will be an opportunity to speak factually about the situation in the Lake District region. It is a chance to voice local concerns about a big issue and to be heard at a national level.