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Employment In Ethnic Catering

EDM number 1275 in 2007-08, proposed by Austin Mitchell on 31/03/2008.
Categorised under the topics of Asia, Employment, Food, Immigration and Service industries.

That this House welcomes the major contributions that Chinese, Indian, Malaysian and other ethnic restaurants, curry houses, takeaways and catering businesses make not only to culinary diversity, interest and excitement but also to the economy and British society in general; is concerned about their increasing difficulties in recruiting chefs and cooks of all kinds which have forced many to employ asylum seekers many of whom are now being dismissed or arrested under the Stop Illegal Working drive; feels that these problems are compounded by the new points-based system which requires unreasonably high English language skills at a level not attainable in the schools of their country of origin and formal qualifications not attainable by those who acquire their cooking skills from experience, often in family businesses; points out that all this has produced real difficulties for ethnic catering, excessive overtime hours, tens of thousands of staff shortages and in several cases closures of these small and medium enterprises; and observes that these problems are all brought out in the research report compiled for the Chinese Immigration Concerns Committee which comes to the conclusion that, if Chinese catering cannot quickly replace its workforce there is a real danger of a meltdown, a problem which also faces other ethnic catering businesses unless they are urgently recognised as an area of skill shortage with rules relaxed accordingly to allow urgent recruitment.

This motion has been signed by a total of 44 MPs.

MPDateConstituencyPartyType
Austin Mitchell31/03/2008Great GrimsbyLabourProposed
Bob Russell31/03/2008ColchesterLiberal DemocratSeconded
Andrew Dismore01/04/2008HendonLabourSeconded
Peter Bottomley01/04/2008Worthing WestConservativeSeconded
Jeremy Corbyn01/04/2008Islington NorthLabourSeconded
David Drew01/04/2008StroudLabourSeconded
Angus MacNeil01/04/2008Na h-Eileanan an IarScottish National PartySigned
Frank Cook02/04/2008Stockton NorthLabourSigned
Stephen Williams02/04/2008Bristol WestLiberal DemocratSigned
Rudi Vis02/04/2008Finchley and Golders GreenLabourSigned
Hywel Francis02/04/2008AberavonLabourSigned
Elfyn Llwyd02/04/2008Meirionnydd Nant ConwyPlaid CymruSigned
Paul Keetch02/04/2008HerefordLiberal DemocratSigned
Greg Pope02/04/2008HyndburnLabourSigned
Martin Caton03/04/2008GowerLabourSigned
Vincent Cable21/04/2008TwickenhamLiberal DemocratSigned
Desmond Turner21/04/2008Brighton, KemptownLabourSigned
Jim Devine21/04/2008LivingstonLabourSigned
Ian Gibson22/04/2008Norwich NorthLabourSigned
Harry Cohen22/04/2008Leyton and WansteadLabourSigned
Annette Brooke22/04/2008Mid Dorset and North PooleLiberal DemocratSigned
Marsha Singh22/04/2008Bradford WestLabourSigned
Karen Buck22/04/2008Regent's Park and Kensington NorthLabourSigned
Clare Short23/04/2008Birmingham, LadywoodIndependent LabourSigned
Andrew George23/04/2008St IvesLiberal DemocratSigned
Phil Willis23/04/2008Harrogate and KnaresboroughLiberal DemocratSigned
Bill Etherington24/04/2008Sunderland NorthLabourSigned
Sandra Gidley25/04/2008RomseyLiberal DemocratSigned
Mark Williams28/04/2008CeredigionLiberal DemocratSigned
John McDonnell29/04/2008Hayes and HarlingtonLabourSigned
Martin Horwood29/04/2008CheltenhamLiberal DemocratSigned
Keith Vaz30/04/2008Leicester EastLabourSigned
Patrick Hall30/04/2008BedfordLabourSigned
Gwyn Prosser06/05/2008DoverLabourSigned
Robert Marshall-Andrews06/05/2008MedwayLabourSigned
Jeremy Browne12/05/2008TauntonLiberal DemocratSigned
Susan Kramer12/05/2008Richmond ParkLiberal DemocratSigned
Jon Cruddas13/05/2008DagenhamLabourSigned
Alan Keen15/05/2008Feltham and HestonLabourSigned
David Amess16/05/2008Southend WestConservativeSigned
Neil Gerrard19/05/2008WalthamstowLabourSigned
Richard Younger-Ross12/06/2008TeignbridgeLiberal DemocratSigned
Tom Brake06/10/2008Carshalton and WallingtonLiberal DemocratSigned
Simon Hughes07/10/2008North Southwark and BermondseyLiberal DemocratSigned

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