Today the government has relaxed visa requirements for overseas builders, carpenters and people working in the fishing industry amid widespread labour shortages prompting calls for a system overhaul.

Official figures show that since 2015 the cost of construction materials in the UK increased by around 60% compared to 35% in the EU. Over the same period the cost of construction workers in the UK increased by around a third between while Denmark and the Netherlands saw less than half the UK increase.