Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2024 to Question 14330 on Seasonal Workers, who is responsible for ensuring that seasonal workers receive a minimum of 32 hour’s pay each week for each week of their time in the UK; and what steps his Department is taking to support enforcement of this.

The Scheme Operators are responsible for monitoring pay, conditions, and worker’s general welfare whilst they are in the UK.

The Home Office works closely with DEFRA to monitor the scheme to ensure Scheme Operators adhere to the stringent requirements set for ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the seasonal workers. This includes ongoing monitoring of the route’s performance, regular communication with Scheme Operators and ongoing compliance monitoring which is underpinned by compliance visits to both Scheme Operators and growers, which are carried out by UKVI. Action is taken if concerns are identified during sponsor visits, with sponsor licences being suspended while UKVI investigate further.