THE Scottish Government has reissued calls for a tailored immigration system for Scotland, after a report revealed the risk of “acute labour shortages” due to future depopulation and potential implications of post-Brexit policy.
The Expert Advisory Group on Migration and Population report, commissioned by the Scottish Government, said immigration programmes are a ‘swift and reliable’ way to increase the labour force.
It warned that, with a decrease in the birth rate and an aging population, a ‘substantial’ drop in immigration would exacerbate the fall in Scotland’s working age population; recent figures project that the working age population in Scotland is set to fall by 7000 by mid-2043.
Migration minister Ben Macpherson said the findings “reinforce the case for the Scottish Government to be able to implement tailored migration policies”.
