My column in today’s Scotsman:
“The looming coronavirus threat can be viewed as a natural phenomenon, but another threat is entirely man-made and that’s the UK Government’s changes to immigration policy. For the Secretary of State for Scotland, Alister Jack, totalk about “genuine difficulties” is as blasé as referring to coronavirus as a seasonal flu. It’s causing genuine fear and alarm across broad swathes of Scottish business and the effects will be felt by us all.
“It’s for that reason that business leaders have spoken out with the care sector highly critical and a leading tourism body describing it as the “biggest threat” to the industry. But it’s not just the care sector or hospitality that’s threatened. I was recently meeting with a senior representative of the security industry who was at a loss to know how they’d cope.
“The points-based system and salary cap are woefully inadequate for them. Who will do that work? Anyone attending a major event and seeing staff in yellow jackets will note that many are foreign, as are those standing watching in stores or building sites. “Look aboot ye” and you’ll see what I mean.”
