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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to review the effectiveness of the Pick For Britain scheme; and whether that review will include analysis of the effect of (a) the UK leaving the EU and (b) the covid-19 outbreak on that scheme.

The Pick for Britain website was launched in April as a joint Defra and industry initiative to bring together people who are looking for work on UK farms with recruiters who have roles to fill.

We are evaluating the impact of the Pick for Britain website on an ongoing basis through engagement with the recruiters and businesses who use it. Industry feedback indicates the demand for seasonal workers is currently being met, but we know this may change in the coming months and we will continue to closely monitor the situation. Although Pick for Britain was launched in direct response to the Covid-19 outbreak we will, as part of our evaluation, consider how positive lessons from the campaign might be applied beyond the end of the Transition Period.