Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has plans to provide visas for workers in food production.
Answered by Kevin Foster
On Monday 13th June, the government launched a new Food Strategy, which will seek to address challenges faced by the sector. Recognising the sector cannot sustainably rely on migrant labour, especially in light of global pressures elsewhere, the strategy sets out that Government will commission an independent review to tackle labour shortages in the food supply chain, considering the roles of automation, domestic labour and migration routes.
To support the sector, the Government will release 10,000 additional visas for the seasonal worker visa route, with 2,000 of these going to the poultry sector for the eight-week period prior to Christmas. This is to cover the surge in demand for chicken, turkey and goose during the festive season and to ensure the smooth running of the food supply chain.
The Government introduced the Points Based System in 2020 which is designed to attract the skills and expertise which the UK requires. Acting upon advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), the Government broadened the skills threshold of the Skilled Worker route and introduced a lower salary threshold which, as modelling by the MAC suggests, strikes a reasonable balance between access to labour and controlling immigration. The independent review’s consideration of the role of migration will therefore need to be with reference to the MAC’s advice. A number of roles in the food production sector are already eligible for a Skilled Worker visa.
For those roles in the sector which do not meet the threshold for the Skilled Worker route, there is the domestic labour market which includes UK workers and migrants with general work rights. The Government does not intend to introduce a route for those who do not meet the skills and salary threshold allowing recruitment at or near minimum wage.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to expand the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme.
Answered by Kevin Foster
On Monday 13th June, the government launched a new Food Strategy, which will seek to address challenges faced by the sector. Recognising the sector cannot sustainably rely on migrant labour, especially in light of global pressures elsewhere, the strategy sets out that Government will commission an independent review to tackle labour shortages in the food supply chain, considering the roles of automation, domestic labour and migration routes.
To support the sector, the Government will release 10,000 additional visas for the seasonal worker visa route, with 2,000 of these going to the poultry sector for the eight-week period prior to Christmas. This is to cover the surge in demand for chicken, turkey and goose during the festive season and to ensure the smooth running of the food supply chain.
The Government introduced the Points Based System in 2020 which is designed to attract the skills and expertise which the UK requires. Acting upon advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), the Government broadened the skills threshold of the Skilled Worker route and introduced a lower salary threshold which, as modelling by the MAC suggests, strikes a reasonable balance between access to labour and controlling immigration. The independent review’s consideration of the role of migration will therefore need to be with reference to the MAC’s advice. A number of roles in the food production sector are already eligible for a Skilled Worker visa.
For those roles in the sector which do not meet the threshold for the Skilled Worker route, there is the domestic labour market which includes UK workers and migrants with general work rights. The Government does not intend to introduce a route for those who do not meet the skills and salary threshold allowing recruitment at or near minimum wage.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people on the seasonal worker visa scheme are not subject to labour exploitation.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The Government takes the issue of migrant welfare very seriously and tackling modern slavery is a key priority. In particular, in connection with the Seasonal Workers visa route that is one of the main routes for migrant workers to come each year and help with the harvest for the horticulture sector.
A key objective of the Seasonal Worker visa route 2022-24 is to ensure that migrant workers are adequately protected against modern slavery and other labour abuses.
The Home Office sponsored licencing system places clear and binding requirements and obligations on the scheme operators to safeguard workers under the scheme, including protecting workers’ rights and ensuring effective enforcement of UK employment laws.
The operators of the Seasonal Worker visa route are licensed by the Gangmasters Labour and Abuse Authority (GLAA). They will ensure that all workers are placed with farms who adhere to all relevant legislation. Should a scheme operator lose their GLAA licencing at any point, their sponsor licence will be revoked with immediate effect.
Defra is working across Government and with the sector to take a number of targeted and widespread actions to ensure the safety of workers pre-arrival, in-country and on their return home.
On 6 April 2022, changes were implemented by the Home Office to ensure that seasonal workers are paid in line with skilled workers. Workers must be paid at least £10.10 for each hour they work. The minimum pay requirement for seasonal workers on the scheme has been designed to discourage poor conditions.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential economic impact of mandating increased wages for seasonal workers on (a) fruit farmers and (b) consumer fruit costs.
Answered by Kevin Foster
As part of extending the Seasonal Worker visa route until the end of 2024, we have followed through on the recommendation made by the Migration Advisory Committee in their report of September 2018, which stated:
‘If a seasonal agriculture worker scheme was introduced we recommend that employers pay a higher minimum wage in return for the privileged access to labour this scheme would give the sector in order to encourage increases in productivity.’
The Government has introduced a minimum hourly rate of pay for the Seasonal Worker route as part of a wider package of work being jointly delivered with the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, seeking to ensure the welfare of participating migrant workers, and in particular to reduce the risks of debt bondage.
The Government published a review of the seasonal worker route on 24 December 2021, that clearly set out the types of migrant welfare issues we have identified within this route. The Director of Labour Market Enforcement has also flagged the agriculture sector, and specifically seasonal workers, as presenting a high risk for labour marker exploitation.
It is not the purpose of the UK immigration system to provide UK growers with a guaranteed source of cheap labour, or to perpetuate conditions which would not be acceptable to resident workers. The increase in the wage required from National Minimum Wage to £10.10 per hour is reasonable and necessary in order to ensure these vulnerable workers are receiving fair remuneration for their work.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason a rate of pay in excess of the national living wage has been mandated for seasonal workers by her Department.
Answered by Kevin Foster
As part of extending the Seasonal Worker visa route until the end of 2024, we have followed through on the recommendation made by the Migration Advisory Committee in their report of September 2018, which stated:
‘If a seasonal agriculture worker scheme was introduced we recommend that employers pay a higher minimum wage in return for the privileged access to labour this scheme would give the sector in order to encourage increases in productivity.’
The Government has introduced a minimum hourly rate of pay for the Seasonal Worker route as part of a wider package of work being jointly delivered with the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, seeking to ensure the welfare of participating migrant workers, and in particular to reduce the risks of debt bondage.
The Government published a review of the seasonal worker route on 24 December 2021, that clearly set out the types of migrant welfare issues we have identified within this route. The Director of Labour Market Enforcement has also flagged the agriculture sector, and specifically seasonal workers, as presenting a high risk for labour marker exploitation.
It is not the purpose of the UK immigration system to provide UK growers with a guaranteed source of cheap labour, or to perpetuate conditions which would not be acceptable to resident workers. The increase in the wage required from National Minimum Wage to £10.10 per hour is reasonable and necessary in order to ensure these vulnerable workers are receiving fair remuneration for their work.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure an adequate labour supply for the horticultural sector in the (a) short and (b) long term.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
On 24 December 2021, the Government announced that the seasonal worker visa route would be extended through to 2024. As with the Pilot, it allows overseas workers to come to the UK for up to six months to harvest both edible and ornamental crops. 30,000 visas will be available in 2022. This will be kept under review with the potential to increase by 10,000 visas if there is clear evidence of need.
While acknowledging the sector's reliance on foreign workers, the UK is committed to becoming a high-skilled, high-wage economy and the Government has been clear that more must be done to attract UK workers through offering training, career options, wage increases and to invest in increased automation technology.
To help with these efforts, Defra is working with industry and the Department for Work and Pensions to raise awareness of career opportunities within the horticulture sector among UK workers.
As announced in December 2020, Defra has undertaken a review of automation in horticulture during 2021, covering both the edible and ornamental sectors in England. It is due to be published in early 2022. Our response to the review will work alongside the seasonal worker visa route - and Defra's efforts to attract more UK residents into agricultural work - to support the overall aim of reducing the sector's dependency on seasonal migrant labour
Defra is also engaging with the operators of the seasonal worker visa route to prepare and advance emergency 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 works from almost 50 countries in 2021.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
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 suitability of using the four existing labour providers operating within the seasonal worker scheme to local suitable butchers for the 800 six-month emergency visas announced on 14 October 2021.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The temporary visa schemes for poultry, food sector HGV drivers and pork butchers were facilitated by the ‘Temporary Work - Seasonal Worker’ visa route, which requires approved scheme operators to sponsor workers entering the UK.
Pilot operators select, sponsor and monitor migrants, and adhere to all Home Office requirements in practice, including those on migrant safety and welfare. The Seasonal Workers Pilot requires operators to ensure that all workers have a safe working environment; are treated fairly, paid properly including time off and breaks; are housed in safe hygienic accommodation; that their passport is never withheld from them; and that robust systems are in place for the reporting of concerns and rapid action.
More information about the Seasonal Workers Pilot RFI can be found on the Government website:
Seasonal Workers Pilot request for information - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Earl of Caithness (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what further steps they are taking to avoid crops having to be ploughed in due to a lack of seasonal farm workers.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The Government recognises the importance of labour to bringing home the harvest.
Defra continues to work closely with industry and other Government departments to understand labour supply and demand, and to ensure there is a long-term strategy for the food and farming workforce beyond 2021.
The expanded Seasonal Workers Pilot has provided a solution to the unskilled labour needs of the edible horticulture sector through 2021, supporting farmers growing UK fruit and vegetables. This sector of agriculture has the highest dependency on seasonal labour.
The Government has announced that the seasonal worker visa route will be extended to 2024 to allow overseas workers to come to the UK for up to six months to harvest both edible and ornamental crops. 30,000 visas will be available. This will be kept under review with the potential to increase by 10,000 visas if necessary.
In addition, food and farming businesses can continue to rely on EU nationals living in the UK with settled or pre-settled status. Over 5.5 million EU citizens and their families have been granted status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
The Government encourages all sectors to make employment more attractive to UK domestic workers through offering training, careers options, wage increases and to invest in automation technology. To support these efforts, Defra is working with industry and the Department for Work and Pensions to raise awareness of career opportunities in the food and farming sectors among UK workers.
Defra is also leading a Government review of automation in horticulture to improve our understanding of what is required to accelerate the development and uptake of automation technologies in both the edible and ornamental sectors, in England, with the view to reducing the sector’s long-term dependency on seasonal migrant labour. The review’s final report will be published shortly and will inform a range of policy decisions regarding automation and seasonal labour from 2022 onwards.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many of the 10,500 temporary visas the Government has offered to hauliers and food poultry workers.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
Under an emergency temporary visa scheme agreed with the Home Office this autumn 5500 visas for poultry workers and 4700 visas for HGV drivers delivering food were made available ahead of Christmas 2021. The scheme for poultry workers closed on 15 November 2021 and the scheme for food sector HGV drivers closed on 1 December 2021.
Details of the numbers of temporary work visas granted for poultry workers and HGV drivers in food distribution will be published in the usual way via the Home Office’s quarterly immigration statistics.
On 1 October, the Home Office also stood up at pace an emergency visa scheme for HGV drivers in the fuels supply sector. This arrangement permitted fully licenced and qualified drivers, identified by the fuel transport sector and endorsed by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, to take up employment in the UK on a temporary basis. The arrangement closed on 15 October 2021.
The rapid deployment of this arrangement necessitated those applications for leave to enter be considered at the border, and as a result this group is not discretely captured within Home Office data.
These were emergency, temporary visa scheme measures. We are looking at ways to help both the poultry sector and road haulage sectors recruit more domestic labour to support the overall aim of reducing the sector’s dependency on seasonal migrant labour.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle the long-term shortage of labour in the food and drink sector.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
Defra is working closely with industry to help our world-leading farmers and food and drink businesses access the labour they need, and to ensure that our sectors are appropriately supported both this year and in the future.
On 22 December 2020, the Government extended the Seasonal Workers Pilot into 2021, with up to 30,000 visas available, granted for workers to come to the UK, from EU or non-EU countries, for a period of up to six months to work in the edible horticulture sector.
In December 2020, a Defra-led review into automation in horticulture was also announced alongside the extension of the Seasonal Workers Pilot. The review will report on ways to increase automation in the horticulture sector and meet the Government’s aim of reducing the need for migrant seasonal labour.
There are a number of initiatives across Government to bring these technologies to market as fast as possible, including Transforming Food Production, Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme and Farming Investment Fund as well as other public funding initiatives.
The Farming Innovation Programme opened for applications on 20 October 2021 and will support the sector to develop new technologies, systems and processes to deliver enhanced productivity and support wider net zero goals.
On 1 January 2021 the Government introduced the new points-based immigration system, under which EU and non-EU citizens are treated equally. The Skilled Worker route is open to all nationals who wish to come to the UK for the purpose of working in a skilled job they have been offered.
Alongside this, food and drink businesses will also be able to recruit those who come to the UK through our youth mobility schemes, dependents of skilled workers, plus those who arrive through other routes, such as our humanitarian protection ones, who have free access to the UK labour market.
In 2021 and beyond, the food and drink industry continues to be able to rely on EU nationals living in the UK with settled or pre-settled status. Over 5.3 million EU citizens and their families have been granted status under the EU Settlement Scheme and EU nationals who have settled status can continue to travel to the UK to do seasonal work in the food and drink sector.
Defra is also working closely with the Home Office to ensure there is a long-term strategy for the food and farming workforce beyond 2021.
For the longer term, the Government is encouraging all sectors to make employment more attractive to UK domestic workers through offering training, careers options, wage increases and to invest in increased automation technology.
To support these efforts, Defra is working with industry and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to raise awareness of career opportunities within the food and drink sectors among UK workers. All food and drink businesses are encouraged to advertise roles through DWP's Find A Job website, where they can upload and manage their vacancies. DWP does not charge for this service and it is available across the United Kingdom.
Defra welcomes the Ministry of Justice’s work on the Release On Temporary Licence (ROTL) scheme for work across a number of sectors, including the food and drink sector. The scheme aims to help prisoners gain useful skills and work experience as they approach their release.
The Government is continuing to work extensively to understand employers’ needs through regular engagement with industry and encourage them to invest in the best home-grown talent through Government-backed schemes such as apprenticeships and T Levels.