Pulling the immigration ‘lever’ will not solve airline staff shortages, says Shapps

GRANT SHAPPS insisted the Government would not pull “the lever marked more immigration” to solve airport delays as he urged firms to hire more British workers.

In a defiant message to airlines yesterday, the Transport Secretary, criticised some for accepting bookings without having the staff to deliver them.

He also rejected calls by one airline boss to deploy the Army to help avoid a repeat of the chaotic scenes last week at some airports of hours-long delays and problems delivering baggage.

However, the Transport Secretary did renew his support for a similar system to automatic compensation after a delay for flights as currently happens for trains in the UK.

Mr Shapps is understood to be supportive of a push from the Treasury and the Department of Work and Pensions to get more people on benefits into work.

Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, and Therese Coffey, the Work and Pensions Secretary, want work coaches to be offered to people on Universal Credit working more than nine hours.

Analysis of government data showed last week that in some parts of the UK as many as a quarter of people of working age are claiming out-of-work benefits.

During an interview on BBC’S Sunday Morning programme, Mr Shapps was asked if he would temporarily allow more foreign workers into the airline industry to alleviate staffing pressures.

He responded: “The answer can’t always be to reach for the lever marked more immigration. There is not some pull that is going to relieve this.”

He also talked about how the Brexit vote in the 2016 referendum had been about moving away from hiring “cheap labour from somewhere else”.

“I didn’t vote for Brexit but the country did and we’ve made our choice – we want a high-wage, high-skilled economy,” he said.

“That means the aviation sector, like all other sectors, and as the HGV, the lorry-driving sector has now done, needs to change.” The Daily Telegraph understands one airline boss told government figures in a recent meeting that they were finding it hard to recruit people for jobs in the £17,000 to £24,000 salary bracket.

The remark has prompted frustration inside Whitehall.

One source close to the talks, said: “Pay the money, people will come. It is as simple as that.”