Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to work with industry representatives to tackle labour shortages in the hospitality sector.

In July 2021, the Department launched the first-ever hospitality strategy to support the reopening, recovery and resilience of England’s pubs, restaurants, cafes and nightclubs. We have also launched the Hospitality Sector Council to oversee the delivery of the strategy, including working with the sector to address labour and skills shortages.

To help address the immediate challenges of labour shortages in the hospitality sector, the Department for Work and Pensions has been working hard to fill ongoing vacancies by using work coaches to help find local talent and Plans for Jobs programmes, such as Kickstart and Sector-based Work Academy Programmes.