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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effects of a potential shortfall in seasonal workers on the agricultural workforce.

We are aware of the impact that restrictions on travel from other countries, as a result of Covid-19, is having on the number of seasonal workers coming to work in the UK. We are working closely with industry to help our world-leading farmers and growers access the labour they need over the busy harvest months.

We are monitoring labour needs over the remainder of the 2020 harvest season. We understand from industry feedback that labour needs are currently being met and that the majority of businesses have sourced sufficient workers for the remainder of the season.

The expanded Seasonal Worker Pilot in 2020 will enable us to carry out a more extensive evaluation of the systems and processes in place to access labour from non-EEA countries, ahead of any decisions being taken on how future needs of the sector might be addressed.