House of Lords committee calls for evidence in labour shortage inquiry

The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee has launched a call for evidence for an inquiry into labour shortages in the UK.

Recent data has shown that labour shortages are “acute”, with vacancies at “record levels and above pre-pandemic levels” in all industries, according to the committee.

Hospitality has been badly impacted, with the ONS reporting 174,000 job vacancies in the sector between May and March this year.

The pressure to combat staff shortages has led to businesses adjusting trading hours and some incidents of staff poaching.

Some companies, such as Boutique Hotel Group, have had to hire chefs from abroad as a result, but others, like Mandira’s Kitchen café, experienced issues around visa sponsorship, further adding to the problems around recruitment.

The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee announced that it requires evidence from the public to answer the following questions:

1. What are the recent trends in labour supply? How large are reductions in the size of the labour force?
2. Which sectors and regions are most affected? Are the public and private sectors affected differently?
3. Which people have been leaving the labour market? What is the socio-economic and demographic breakdown?
4. What factors are contributing to reductions in the size of the labour force?
5. What effect are wage levels having on the supply of labour?
6. How do recent changes in the UK’s labour supply compare with those in other developed countries?

The deadline for submissions, which can be uploaded here, is 23 September.

This week the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee announced a call for evidence for an inquiry into food security, with a deadline of 30 September.

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