Home Secretary Amber Rudd has commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to examine the regional distribution of EU migration, which sectors are most reliant on it, and the importance of seasonal and temporary workers.
The report is due to be completed by September 2018, seven months before the UK is scheduled to leave the EU in March 2019 when the government will introduce a new immigration system.
The British Hospitality Association (BHA) has welcomed the study, but critics have questioned why it has been commissioned over a year since the EU referendum.
The Confederation of British Industry said employers “urgently” needed answers on the future of their European staff.
Visa plan
The British Hospitality Association (BHA) estimates that over 700,000 EU migrants work in the UK hospitality and tourism industry.
In March, a KPMG study warned that the sector would need to recruit an additional 60,000 workers a year in addition to the 200,000 staff required to replace churn and boost growth if EU migration was restricted.
The BHA is calling on the MAC to advise the government to introduce new visas for hospitality and tourism workers from the EU to prevent the sector facing a recruitment crisis.
“Britain needs services workers as well as scientists and engineers and we look forward to having a serious dialogue with the Home Secretary as we get into the detail of a new immigration law,” said Ibrahim.
“We are determined to rely less on EU service workers over the coming years, [but] it will take time.
