KATE FORBES: Immigation should be celebrated and overseas workers welcomed to Scotland
I recently called for immigration to be devolved to the Scottish Parliament in a Holyrood debate.
We have embedded humanity, dignity and compassion in devolved welfare powers, and we would do the same with immigration powers.
The Scottish Government has already done the legwork, modelling a proposal for a visa pilot on the successful Canadian Atlantic Immigration Program. This visa pilot would be specifically for rural areas and it would be community led (as every policy should be).
The proposal would establish a Scottish Rural Community Immigration Pilot (SRCIP). It would allow rural communities to identify the distinct needs of their local area – perhaps for a teacher, a carer or a fruit picker.
Then, employers in that area (called a Community Pilot Area) could advertise vacancies using bespoke entry criteria as agreed by the local community.
Once applications had been received, from across the world, employers and communities could work together to assess prospective candidates.
Then once applications had been agreed, they would recommend the chosen candidates to the Home Office for the various security checks that are required.
The candidate would then be free to travel to and work in Scotland. The best part of the proposal is the support for the inward migrants once they arrive in communities.
There would be a package of support from local organisations – employers, third sector and public sector services and community groups – welcoming the individual or family and helping them to integrate and feel at home.
The employer, working with the Scottish and UK Governments, would then be responsible for ensuring the terms and conditions of the scheme continue to be met.
It’s a bespoke solution which would directly support Scotland’s aspirations for a growing economy, thriving public services and flourishing society.
We also need to heed the increasingly stark warnings about our population. Bluntly, it is getting older and getting smaller. This is particularly acute in our rural areas.
Population decline isn’t just a question of numbers, it will directly increase poverty, shrink the economy and hamstring public services.
Take our economy. Our businesses are aspirational and ambitious. They have incredible goods and services. They want to grow, and employ more people and offer better wages.
Yet, they are battling a Tory-inflation crisis, a stagnating economy and difficulties in trading. The last thing organisations need is a staffing shortage and yet that’s what they are grappling with.
All of that impacts on poverty, because it means less money to invest in our public services and shrinks our economy and reduces employment opportunities in the long term.
If the rural population decreases and gets older, as forecasts suggest, there will be fewer workers – staffing our NHS, our care homes and our grocery stores. There will be fewer children in our schools.
Our older people will struggle to get care. That is the future we face if we don’t combat the depopulation crisis. The only solution is to attract more people to live and work in our communities. That starts with allowing them to come in the first place – the unwelcoming, onerous, complicated immigration system devised by the Tories does the opposite.
As a small nation, Scotland doesn’t just welcome immigrants, we need them. The prosperity and opportunity of the next few decades will rely on how successful we are at attracting people.
The success of any scheme depends on it being bespoke and community-led. And it needs to be unashamed in celebrating the contribution that immigrants make to our economy, our culture and our society.
