Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of potential barriers to rural workforce housing on farm labour availability.

The Government regularly reviews and publishes data relating to rural housing on GOV.UK: Housing Statistics for Rural England - GOV.UK. The Government gives all due consideration to this data, including implications for the rural workforce, when formulating policy.

In relation to seasonal workers via the visa route, there are no housing barriers identified for this cohort as accommodation is provided as part of the conditions of their sponsor, in the main part as on-farm caravan accommodation.