§ Mr. Ioan Evansasked the Secretary of State for Employment what action he proposes to take on the recommendation of the Select Committee on Race Relations and Immigration that the work permit quotas for hotel and catering and domestic workers and nursing auxiliaries should be further reduced and dates given for their termination.
§ Mr. John GrantSpecial arrangements exist for the issue of work permits for 301W overseas workers in the hotel and catering industry because of the difficulties experienced by some employers in attracting suitable workers from the home labour force. Under these arrangements permits are available up to a numerical ceiling which is determined annually for work which does not meet the skills standard of the general scheme.
The need for these arrangements is to some extent a symptom of more general manpower problems in the industry. In a reply to the hon. Member for Christchurch and Lymington (Mr. Adley) on 22nd March I referred to an informal consultation I held with representatives of the industry on 16th March. After a useful exchange of views it was agreed that further discussion of these problems would take place within the Hotel and Catering Economic Development Committee.
The ceiling of work permits for the industry has been progressively reduced from 8,500 in 1975 to 1,500 this year and permits are no longer issued for unskilled workers. They continue to be available for semi-skilled as well as skilled workers. Although no precise date can be given, it is the Government's intention to terminate these special arrangements as soon as it is reasonable and practicable to do so.
In the light of persistent high levels of unemployment the ceiling of work permits for domestic workers and nursing auxiliaries has been progressively reduced from 8,000 in 1975 to the current level of 1,500. This type of work especially in households where care of the young, the elderly, the physically or mentally handicapped or the sick is involved has not for some years attracted enough candidates from the home labour force. Since August 1977 permits issued against this ceiling have been restricted to nationals of non-EEC European countries—EEC nationals do not require them. The Government consider that before further reductions in this quota or its termination are considered it is necessary to assess the effects of this change over a period of time.
The issue of permits against both these quotas is of course subject to the normal requirement of the work permit scheme that no suitable worker is available in the resident labour force and that the 302W employer has made adequate efforts to find one.