Rural workers: Should the Scottish Parliament have powers to change immigration legislation?

Do we want to give the Scottish Parliament powers to change immigration legislation to make it easier for industries such as energy, farming, hospitality and horticulture to recruit an overseas workforce?

Depopulation in rural Scotland has been a long-standing issue, especially in the Highlands and Islands, but should we be focussing on local infrastructure and resources in rural areas first before we start recruiting people from outside the UK to work in these regions? If there is no affordable housing, school places for children, reliable bus services to enable these workers to get to and from their jobs, and adequate healthcare provisions then surely, we should not be encouraging people to live and work in areas with a historically higher cost of living.

The announcement in October that the real Living Wage has increased to £12.60 per hour for employees over the age of 18, raises the question: will these industries commit to providing the real living wage to their workforce? A report carried out in 2021 by the Scottish Government estimated the cost of living in rural areas of Scotland to be in the region of 15% to 30% higher than urban areas of the UK. Island residents spend on average 13% more on a weekly shopping than mainland residents, further compounded by increased delivery charges to remote areas, not to mention ferry costs incurred to travel backwards and forwards. These are just a few examples of the “rural premium” that these communities are forced to pay.  

We are all in favour of encouraging migration into the more under populated regions of Scotland, but this needs to be supported by an adequate infrastructure first. We want to enable the workforce to live and work in rural areas of Scotland without struggling to afford the higher cost of living, which they will no doubt have to endure.

Back in September 2022, the Scottish Government set out a proposal for a Rural Visa Pilot scheme, which gathered support from many local councils, including Orkney. However, it was met by a deafening silence from Westminster. We now have the Private Member’s Bill introduced by Stephen Gethins, SNP MP for Broughty Ferry and Arbroath on 21 October. His Devolution (Immigration) (Scotland) bill has been put forward to amend the Scotland Act 1998 to grant legislative competence to the Scottish Parliament in respect of immigration. The Bill has yet to be published so it is unclear at this stage how it will address the fact that (notwithstanding the preference of the SNP) the UK remains a single country, and once someone has immigrated to rural Scotland no current legal power could prevent them from moving elsewhere.

In a recent meeting at the Interpol general assembly in Glasgow, Prime Minister Keir Starmer dismissed the suggestion of devolving immigration powers, firmly stating “No, we are not looking at that”. This prompted an outcry from the SNP government with Kate Forbes, Deputy First Minister claiming that this stance from the UK government is actively harming Scotland’s economy. She stated, “UK migration policies are actively harming Scotland’s economic growth and prosperity, and a tailored migration system suited to Scotland’s specific circumstances is long overdue”.

The private members bill introduced by Mr Gethins, is currently awaiting the second reading, due on 25 April 2025. With such a negative response from the Prime Minister, there doesn’t seem to be much hope that this bill will get through to the committee stage in parliament.

Before attempting to change legislation, maybe the Scottish Government must first address the obvious issues surrounding inadequate infrastructure, housing and transport. Going some way to improve these issues may encourage the younger residents to remain in rural areas, rather than migrating to the central belt for education and work opportunities.