Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, from which countries are workers entering the UK on the 8 week poultry visa being recruited from; what monitoring of the scheme is in place to ensure that workers are not being charged recruitment fees; and what systems are in place to provide redress where fees are being charged.

The Seasonal Worker route is an ‘operator led’ immigration route, scheme operators are selected to manage the placement of workers on UK farms and to ensure their welfare in the UK.

These operators are selected by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs through a fair and open selection process and recommended to the Home Office – who assess the operator’s suitability to become a licensed sponsor.

The Scheme Operators are responsible for managing all aspects of the recruitment and placement of workers on UK farms and ensuring their welfare in the UK. This includes ensuring ethical recruitment practices, in line with Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority regulations, and that workers are fully supported throughout their stay.