The British Takeaway Campaign, an umbrella group representing those involved in the supply and preparation of the nation’s favourite foods, today (Wednesday) commented on the Home Affairs Select Committee report on immigration.

Ibrahim Dogus, Chair of the British Takeaway Campaign, said:

"The Home Affairs Select Committee report underlines the urgent need for clarity on immigration for thousands of small independent takeaway restaurants which contribute £9.4bn to the economy and support more than 231,000 jobs.

"More than a third of takeaway restaurants say they are unable to recruit the right staff, particularly chefs, front of house roles and delivery drivers. Many are anxious that the situation will get worse – more than a third believe that the UK’s decision to leave the EU will make it more difficult to recruit for their business.

"That’s why the BTC is calling for the development of a long-term immigration system that does not discriminate between EU and non-EU migrants, and instead prioritises skills and sector shortages – helping to support thousands of takeaway restaurants. This needs to go hand in hand with investment in high-quality vocational training in order to build a pipeline of home grown talent.”

Among the measures the BTC called for in its submission to the Migration Advisory Committee are for the Government to:

• Revise the Shortage Occupation List to include specialist chefs in shortage cuisines that work in takeaways
• Ensure that limits on free movement are kept to a minimum and are focused on areas of skill shortage
• Create a Business Visa, providing low skilled migrants with a 12-24 month visa – binding them by contract to an employer, with scope to review after the original employment period
• Provide support and incentives to the takeaway industry to invest in training employees locally
• Develop a long-term immigration system that does not discriminate between EU and non-EU migrants, and instead prioritises skills and sector shortages.