Meeting of the Parliament 12 June 2025
I do, and anecdotes like that could be replicated in many different parts of Scotland. Employers frequently put it to me that migration is an area where they want to see progress, because they see it as an effective solution to the challenges that they face.
We have data that demonstrates the huge impact that immigrants have on our economy. Research that was commissioned by the Federation of Small Businesses in 2019 found that immigrant-led small and medium-sized enterprises generated £13 billion in revenues and 107,000 jobs. We want to attract more entrepreneurs to Scotland, in line with our long-term vision.
Using existing devolved powers, we launched Scotland’s migration service in 2024 to support migrants and Scottish-based employers in navigating the UK immigration system to meet their relocation and business needs. Through it, we are always looking at ways in which we can support businesses, short of having control over immigration.
It will come as no surprise that, like many sectors and industries, we are deeply concerned about some of the policy approaches that are contained in the UK Government’s recently published immigration white paper. It failed to take on board our proposals for action that meets our needs. The plans are likely to have a severe impact on migration to rural areas of Scotland that already face significant demographic and economic challenges.
I strongly believe that we need an immigration system that reflects our distinct demographic, economic and social needs. For example, the hospitality sector was very reliant on workers from the EU before Brexit, and, in 2019, 20 per cent of hospitality workers were non-UK nationals compared with 8 per cent in the wider Scottish economy. In spite of concerted efforts to retain workers, however, there are still 30,000 fewer people working in the sector today than there were pre-Brexit.
There is a case to be made for tailored migration routes for Scotland. We proposed a Scottish graduate visa, which would allow international graduates from Scottish universities to stay in Scotland for two years to gain work experience before transitioning to a skilled-worker visa. When I was first elected, I was often struck by the fact that there was cross-party support for the post-graduate visa from both the Conservatives and Labour. It was a tailored, nuanced approach that enjoyed cross-party support, and we want to see that again. UK ministers could choose to support us on that. We had the fresh talent working in Scotland scheme between 2005 and 2008, which I am very happy to say was a Labour Party initiative. The point is that I think we can still speak with one voice on the importance of migration to Scotland and of working collaboratively to have a tailored approach for Scotland.
Migration enriches our society and makes a net contribution to our economy, our public services and our public finances. It is the fertiliser that helps us to thrive, innovate and grow in the face of demographic challenges. We cannot wish those challenges away, but there are things that we can do within our devolved powers. However, we cannot expand the workforce completely without control over migration, so I invite members from across the chamber to join us in making this call.
I move,
That the Parliament recognises the contribution to Scotland’s communities, public services and economy by those who have chosen to migrate to Scotland and build their lives here; notes that stakeholders from multiple sectors across Scotland have expressed significant concerns with the UK Government’s immigration white paper, and that proposals submitted by the Scottish Government to the Home Office were not included in the published paper; further notes that the Parliament has previously endorsed a motion calling for the development of a differentiated, more flexible migration policy, tailored to meet Scotland’s specific needs; calls on the UK Government to engage with Scottish Government officials urgently to ensure that the needs of Scotland’s businesses, public services and communities are supported, rather than harmed, by the reforms outlined in the UK immigration white paper, and further calls on the UK Government to ensure that a new youth mobility scheme is designed, with engagement from young people across the UK nations, to be as broad and inclusive as possible, restoring the greatest freedom of movement for young people as can be agreed with the EU.
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