HOTELS and restaurants across Dorset and Hampshire are now finding it easier to find foreign staff to plug the skills gap.

Officials at the Home Office are speeding up the processing of work permits and reviewing cases "a lot faster," says Bournemouth law firm Fynn & Partners.

Tourism businesses across the area have found it increasingly hard over recent years to recruit the right staff.

Low unemployment and the growth of the number of bars and restaurants have drained the labour pool in a sector renowned for its high staff turnover. Bournemouth and Poole's large student population has helped to offset the shortages but employers are also having to look abroad to find the chefs, front-of-house staff and other skilled staff that they require.

Historically it has been a "complex and a lengthy expensive procedure" for any company wanting to recruit abroad, said Jonathan Gibbins of Fynn & Partners.

"But this trend seems to be changing as the Home Office has begun to review cases a lot faster.

"This can only be good for the South's many international cuisine restaurants and businesses that cannot find their specific skills in the UK.

"This does not mean that floodgates have opened. Each case is examined on its own merits. An application will still have to justify to the Home Office why you cannot recruit from the resident work force in the UK."

But he added: "With the specific needs of such a large tourist and restaurant industry in the South, the change in the trend to approve more work permits for skilled staff can only be seen as good for local businesses."