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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what percentage of seasonal agricultural workers come from Ukraine; and if he will make a statement.

The Home Office managed migration datasets indicate that in 2021, visas issued to Ukrainian nationals accounted for 67% (19,920) of all visas issued under the seasonal worker route, including those issued under the temporary visa schemes for poultry, food sector HGVs, and pork butchers.

Defra is engaging with the operators of the seasonal worker visa route to prepare and advance contingency plans in response to the situation in Ukraine. Operators can recruit from any country they choose for the seasonal workers visa route and operators recruited seasonal workers from almost 50 countries in 2021.