South Lakes MP warns that new proposed migrant salary threshold would still be a wrecking ball to Lake District hospitality sector

Commenting on today's report released by the Migration Advisory Committee that recommends that Government to drop the salary threshold for immigrants from £30,000 to £25,600, local MP Tim Farron said: "Today's report is a tiny step in the right direction, but given that the average wage in hospitality in Cumbria is £17,000, a £25,600 threshold for overseas workers would still serve as a wrecking ball to the hospitality sector here in the Lake District.

"Of course we want to see more people who were brought up locally working in the Lakes - but with more than 20,000 non-UK staff working in the Lake District hospitality industry and only around 500 people unemployed in the South Lakes, the maths simply does not add up.

"The Government need to take their fingers out of their ears, get in the real world and start working far more pro-actively with hospitality leaders to try and find a solution which does not end up throwing the Lake District tourism sector under a bus."