The apparent inability of Bangladeshi restaurants in Bradford to recruit staff locally is something of a mystery. Given the scale of unemployment among young people in many parts of the district, it surely should not be necessary for restaurant owners to have to look to the Indian sub-continent for people to work in their premises.

Now they are pressing the Home Secretary to alter the regulations to make it easier for Bangladeshi chefs to secure temporary working visas, claiming that if nothing is done all Bangladeshi restaurants may be forced to close.

If that was to happen, it would be a loss to Bradford. However, it is hard to understand why this situation has been arrived at. The catering sector, with its long hours and demanding work, is understandably not the first choice for many young people, but it is surely preferable to living on unemployment benefits.

If it is not, then something has gone seriously wrong with the government policy which is designed to encourage people into work - both by penalising their benefits if they fail to seek a job and by setting a national minimum wage that employers must meet.

If, despite those measures, young people are shunning the many jobs which are reported to be unfilled in local restaurants, it could be that the industry needs to look hard at itself and see what it can do to make itself more attractive to them, recruit them and train them. It should not have to look beyond Bradford, let alone outside the country, to build up its workforce.