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Hospitality Industry: Vacancies

Asked by Stephen GethinsScottish National PartyDepartment for Business and TradeTabled Answered 9 June 2025UIN 57257

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK leaving the EU on availability of workforce in the Scottish hospitality sector.

Answered by Gareth Thomas

Government values the contribution that legal migration makes to the UK, not least to important sectors of the Scottish economy such as hospitality.

While there has been no specific assessment, there were around 226,000 people working in hospitality in Scotland at the end of last year, which is a 6% increase from December 2019 - a month before the UK left the EU.

As part of the Plan for Change, we’re determined to bring net migration down and restore control and order to the immigration system, and it is good to see the hospitality industry employing more people domestically.

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