Tuesday 24th January 2023

(1 year, 3 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Lord Callanan Portrait Lord Callanan (Con)
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I am not sure that I would equate the two issues, but I am happy to debate this with the noble Lord some other time. There are some labour shortages in the hospitality sector, as there are in others. We want to get the message across that industry needs to invest in workers from this country, rather than relying just on immigration all the time.

Lord Addington Portrait Lord Addington (LD)
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My Lords, following up on that last question, would the Minister like to decide in the short term where he will get his workers from? If the industry contracts, there will be nowhere for them to go and we will all lose. Could he comment on that?

Lord Callanan Portrait Lord Callanan (Con)
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It is not necessarily the case that the industry is contracting: this year, revenues were ahead of where they were before the pandemic. There are some businesses closing and others are opening, and employment is up since before the pandemic.