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Migrant workers change face of rural Scotland

LOUISE GRAY (lgray@scotsman.com)

THE population of remote rural Scotland has increased at four times the rate of the rest of the country in the past five years, regenerating local economies in those areas.
Statistics from the General Register of Scotland (GROS) show the population in remote rural Scotland increased by 4 per cent between 2001 and 2006, while the population in accessible rural areas (small settlements half an hour from the nearest town) increased by 6 per cent.

During the same period, the population of Scotland as a whole has increased by just 1 per cent. Nick Wright, the assistant statistician at GROS, said the increase has been driven by the large number of migrant workers, mainly from eastern Europe, coming in to work on farms and in hotels, as well as people moving to the country to retire or have a family.

The tourism and agriculture sectors were struggling to find workers before eastern European workers were allowed to come into Scotland in 2002. Now the industries are expanding and Richard Lochhead, the Cabinet secretary for rural affairs, yesterday welcomed the boost for the rural economy.

David Lonsdale, the assistant director of CBI Scotland, also insisted that immigrants have revived the economy by providing workers in areas where employers were struggling to find staff. He said rural industries had previously found it difficult to retain indigenous employees because many people only did the jobs for a short time and young people left the countryside. He said the influx of migrants had kept many services open, such as post offices and schools.

But politicians and service providers warned that some rural areas were struggling to provide basic services, such as healthcare and English language teaching.
Mr Lonsdale said: "Hospitality and tourism are two of the most important industries in Scotland at the moment so it is good that firms are able to attract staff for these posts, otherwise it would be pretty difficult - especially in rural areas.
"The most important thing for business is attracting good-quality staff willing to work hard. Ideally, that would come from the indigenous population, but when it is difficult to attract people then clearly you have to look elsewhere.
"The fact we have a free market in terms of migrants coming to work here is a positive thing for these employers."

He added: "Migrant workers have helped to sustain local communities through supporting local shops, GPs and post offices."
In Scotland as a whole, net migration increased by 1 per cent to just under five million between 2001 and 2006. In the same period, net migration in remote rural areas increased by 4 per cent to just under 330,000 and by 6 per cent to almost 620,000 in remote but accessible areas.

When broken down by council area, GROS figures show a high number of migrants coming into rural areas compared to the other areas. For example, from 2001 to 2005, net migration into the Highlands was 7,505 compared to 5,743 into Scotland's largest city, Glasgow.

Mr Lochhead welcomed the figures, but conceded that there were "real challenges" for the rural community in terms of providing services.
He said: "These statistics show that rural Scotland is a great place to live, to work, to bring up a family and, indeed, to retire. It is striking how much the rural population has increased in both remote and accessible areas. The fact that there are so many folk who aspire to move to the countryside bodes well for Scotland's economic and social development."

He added: "Rapid development brings real challenges for communities and for public services. We need to improve the availability of affordable housing in rural areas."
Mary Scanlon, the Tory MSP for Highlands and Islands, said workers were contributing to the economy but there was a desperate need for improved services, such as English language provision, healthcare and policing. She said: "The services in the Highlands are cracking at the seams as they try to absorb these workers. It is very difficult."
Sir Andrew Green, chairman of the Migration Watch organisation, said the problem was worse in England, where there is more overcrowding. However, he said it was still an issue north of the Border.

He said: "Immigration is good because it is a highly mobile labour force, but the workers tend to congregate in certain rural towns where it is a great challenge to local services."
Dr Dean Marshall, chairman of the British Medical Association Scottish GPs' committee, said doctors across Scotland were struggling to treat the increased number of patients.
He said: "An increasing number of people coming into the country - wherever they are from - means extra work with no extra resources and the knock-on effect of that is resources are spread thinner."

Related topic
Immigration and refugees

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