§ Mr. Guy Barnettasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement about the policy of his Department in relation to the issue of work permits to foreign nationals.
§ Mr. John Fraser,pursuant to his reply [Official Report 28th October 1975; Vol. 898, c. 465], gave the following information:
I have been reviewing, with particular regard to the present level of unemployment, the arrangements for issuing work permits. I do not intend to change the present general arrangements, under which permits are made available only for skilled vacancies which cannot be met from the resident labour force. However, I have decided to make the following changes in the quotas which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment announced to the House on 10th February 1975.—[Vol. 886; c. 26–28.]
Hotels and Catering
I have sought the views of bodies representing employers and workers, and of the Manpower Services Commission, about arrangements for this industry. Last year there was a quota of permits for this industry of 8,500, and this was all but exhausted. I am placing a ceiling of 6,000 on the number of permits which may be made aavilable to the industry in 1976. I have told bodies representing the industry that I hope they will be able to limit their requirements for overseas labour to a figure well below this, and emphasised the importance of employers taking the maximum advan- 560W tage of the present employment situation to recruit and train labour from the resident labour force. Some 2,500 of the permits issued last year were for unskilled workers admitted for the season only.
In the present situation it is reasonable to expect the industry to recruit such workers from the unemployed including, so far as seasonal workers are concerned, students. I have to recognise, however, that there may be some occasions during the year when it may be impossible to fill particular unskilled vacancies from the resident labour force. I shall be prepared to agree to the issue of a small number of permits for unskilled seasonal work where my officials are advised by the Employment Service Agency that alternative labour is not available, but I expect such occasions to be exceptional.
The Manpower Services Commission has assured me that its agencies are ready to do everything possible to help employers with their recruitment and training of unskilled and semi-skilled workers from the available labour force. I am asking that during the period from June to September the Employment Services Agency should pay particular regard to the availability of students for unskilled vacancies in the industry. I welcome the assurances of the MSC and place considerable reliance on the ability of the staff of the Employment Service Agency to find and submit suitable candidates, both for immediate work and also for training with the employer, or through the Training Services Agency. To assist the Employment Service Agency an application for a work permit will be considered by my Department only if the Agency has held for the preceding three weeks a vacancy notified by the employer for the job concerned. The strict application of this rule, in particular to less skilled vacancies, should go a long way to ensure that a thorough search is made for suitable candidates. I am also taking steps to ensure that officers of local education authorities' careers service keep in mind opportunities in this industry for those leaving full-time education.
In putting these arrangements to bodies representing the industry I have explained that while I welcome the steps the industry has taken to reduce its reliance on 561W overseas labour I expect to see a more rapid progress towards a position where permits are needed only for the more highly skilled jobs, or where they are genuinely necessary because of the international nature of part of the industry. I am asking the Manpower Services Agency to consider whether there is any further help it can offer the industry in achieving this objective.
Domestic and hospital workers
Last year a quota of 8,000 was introduced for resident domestic workers which, in the case of hospitals, included all unskilled workers plus nursing auxiliaries. Just under 3,000 permits were issued. I propose a ceiling this year of 2,500 permits, although here again I hope that increased recruitment in the home labour market will make it possible to limit the number of permits actually issued to a figure well below this ceiling. The special safeguards introduced last year covering the employment of overseas domestic workers in private households will continue.
I shall be keeping both quotas under close personal review throughout the year.
Other quotas
I propose that the annual quotas for workers from Malta and the Dependent Territories, and for United Kingdom passport holders, announced by my right hon. Friend in February of last year, should remain unchanged.
Post Property Total Cost £ Atlanta … … … … … Consul General's Residence … … 77,000 Auckland … … … … … Staff house … … … … … 64,000 Bogota, Colombia … … … Embassy offices … … … … 84,000 Staff flat … … … … … 10,000 Bonn … … … … … Staff house … … … … … 79,000 Geneva … … … … … Staff house … … … … … 90,000 Johannesburg … … … … 2 staff houses … … … … 56,500 Lilongwe, Malawi … … … … High Commission office site … … 33,500 Sites for 12 staff houses … … … 15,000 13 staff houses … … … … 210,000 Lima, Peru … … … … … Embassy offices … … … … 85,500 Malaga … … … … … Consulate-General's offices … … … 41,000 Muscat, Oman … … … … 10 staff houses … … … … 433,000 Technical Buildings … … … … 40,000 Nairobi … … … … … 2 staff houses … … … … 53,000 Paris … … … … … 4 staff flats … … … … … 86,500 Perth … … … … … Staff house … … … … … 29,000 Port Moresby, Papua (New Guinea) … High Commissioner's Residence … … 68,500 Pretoria … … … … … 17 staff houses … … … … 306,000 Suva, Fiji … … … … … Head of Chancery's Residence … … 70,000