Scottish businesses said that Britain’s impending exit from the EU was already making it hard to fill gaps in their workforces, citing a skills shortage, visa problems and a negative, uncertain image of the UK abroad.

In evidence given to a UK parliamentary committee, representatives of the food and drink, tourism, health and social care sectors pointed to difficulties recruiting and training staff to cope with demand for their services, particularly in Scotland’s many rural communities.

They also expressed worries about the bureaucracy of a future migration system, which they said would hamper both small businesses and applicants. The decline in the pound against the euro was another factor as it diminished the value of earnings workers could send back to their families abroad.

“Our profound fear is that now we are already in the process of that [workforce] tap being turned off, where is that workforce going to come from?” asked Donald Macaskill, the chief executive of Scottish Care, which represents a sector supporting around 100,000 care-home care-at-home jobs.

Where is that workforce going to come from?

He said six to eight per cent of his nurses at care homes were from the European Economic Area.

As Britain approaches the second phase of Brexit negotiations, centring on trade, many companies have asked for clarity on what status EU workers living in the UK will have during an expected transition phase of two years.

Many Britons who voted for Brexit did so because they were unhappy about the flow of migrants into Britain, and one of the key issues for them is stopping the unlimited flow of EU citizens into Britain as a full EU member.

For business, however, recruiting staff is becoming more difficult.