Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many HMRC inspections of farms employing workers on the Seasonal Worker visa were conducted in each of the last five years.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) receives it. All businesses, irrespective of size or business sector, are responsible for paying the correct minimum wage to their staff.

HMRC continue to crack down on employers who ignore the law, ensuring workers receive the wages to which they are entitled.

HMRC continue to undertake compliance activity within the agriculture sector across the UK. However, we do not hold specific data on how many of our interventions in this sector employ seasonal workers.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prime Minister’s speech entitled, Prime Minister’s remarks from the plenary session at the first UK-Ireland Summit: 6 March 2025, what steps the Government is taking to work more closely with the EU to (a) boost trade, (b) create jobs and (c) increase economic growth.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Government is committed to improving the UK’s trade and investment relationship with the EU, by tearing down unnecessary barriers to trade. The Prime Minister and President von der Leyen agreed to identify areas where we can strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit, such as the economy, energy, security and resilience. Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and I are taking this forward ahead of the first UK-EU summit in London on 19 May. The first UK-Ireland Summit saw the announcement of £185.5 million in new Irish investments, and creating 2540 jobs across the country.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority inspectors were operational in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales, and (d) Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) can deploy their officers to any part of the country when there is capacity and a need to do so. The GLAA have employed the following number of compliance officers and enforcement officers over the last five years:

2020 - 13 Compliance Officers, 38 Enforcement Officers

2021 - 13 Compliance Officers, 43 Enforcement Officers

2022 - 14 Compliance Officers, 40 Enforcement Officers

2023 - 13 Compliance Officers, 39 Enforcement Officers

2024 - 13 Compliance Officers, 35 Enforcement Officers

2025 - 13 Compliance Officers, 34 Enforcement Officers

The GLAA does not hold the specific data requested on the number of farms they have inspected that employ workers on a Seasonal Worker visa.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority inspections on farms employing workers on the Seasonal Worker visa were carried out in each of the last five years in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales, and (d) Northern Ireland.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) can deploy their officers to any part of the country when there is capacity and a need to do so. The GLAA have employed the following number of compliance officers and enforcement officers over the last five years:

2020 - 13 Compliance Officers, 38 Enforcement Officers

2021 - 13 Compliance Officers, 43 Enforcement Officers

2022 - 14 Compliance Officers, 40 Enforcement Officers

2023 - 13 Compliance Officers, 39 Enforcement Officers

2024 - 13 Compliance Officers, 35 Enforcement Officers

2025 - 13 Compliance Officers, 34 Enforcement Officers

The GLAA does not hold the specific data requested on the number of farms they have inspected that employ workers on a Seasonal Worker visa.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Health and Safety Executive have taken to prevent health and safety hazards on farms employing workers on the Seasonal Worker visa in each of the last five years in (a) Scotland, (b) England and (c) Wales.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety, this includes workplace health and safety risks created in agriculture.

Over the last 5 years, HSE has taken the following steps to address on-farm health and safety hazards and improve the health and safety performance of the industry for the benefit of all farm workers in Scotland, England and Wales, including seasonal workers, by:

• Working closely with the industry through Britain’s Farm Safety Partnerships (FSPs). Together, HSE and the FSPs use a range of interventions to encourage the industry to take a greater ownership of the health and safety risks that it creates, and work to create sustained improvement from within the industry.
• Between 2018 and 2024, in partnership with the industry, HSE ran a campaign to offer farmers free health and safety training which was then followed up by an inspection to a selection of the farms invited to take the training.
• Although HSE has no pre-planned inspections in agriculture in 2024/25, HSE continues to inspect where they receive intelligence to suggest risk is not being managed and investigate incidents in line with its selection criteria.
• Over the last 5 years HSE has also engaged with the industry through a variety of other methods including industry talks, webinars, presentations, campaigns, media engagement, and producing industry notifications which include safety messaging.
• HSE’s recent agricultural media campaign “Your Farm Your Future” was a successful example of using HSE and industry voices to reinforce safety messages and reach a wide range of farmers and farm workers. Campaign materials can be found at: https://workright.campaign.gov.uk/campaigns/agriculture/.
• In addition, HSE also publishes guidance for farmers on how to prevent workplace ill health and injury to their workforce, including seasonal workers. The guidance is freely available on the HSE website at https://www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture/index.htm.

HSE remains committed to working with the farming industry to help improve health and safety performance for the benefit of all its workers.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps HMRC have taken to ensure farms employing workers on the Seasonal Worker visa are being paid the National Living Wage in (a) 2023 and (b) 2024.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) receives it. All businesses, irrespective of size or business sector, are responsible for paying the correct minimum wage to their staff.

HMRC continue to crack down on employers who ignore the law, ensuring workers receive the wages to which they are entitled.

HMRC continue to undertake compliance activity within the agriculture sector across the UK. However, we do not hold specific data on how many of our interventions in this sector employ seasonal workers.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his Department's policy is on the presence of Israeli armed forces in positions within Syria since 8 December 2024.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We continue to call on Israel, and all actors, to uphold their obligations to peace, stability, and security under international law.  We are increasingly concerned by Israel's actions in Syria and are raising these concerns directly with the Israeli authorities. Israel have said their presence in the buffer zone in the Golan Heights will be limited and temporary, and we have been clear that we expect them to adhere to this commitment. We recognise current threats to Israel, Israel's presence in the buffer zone must not become permanent.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Worker Support Centre's Annual Report 2024, published on 14 February 2025, whether the Health and Safety Executive has plans to commission a review into (a) the use of personal protective equipment and (b) repeated injuries on farms employing seasonal workers.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety, this includes workplace health and safety risks created in agriculture.

HSE can confirm that the Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 1992 were amended in 2022 to bring all workers into scope. The above regulations will be subject to a post implementation review (PIR) in 2027. These regulations already require that suitable personal protective equipment is provided, at no cost, to the worker and that workers are trained in its use. Therefore, HSE is of the view that the regulations are currently fit for purpose and have no plans to review them before the planned PIR. Farms have a legal duty to ensure that they provide appropriate PPE to all workers, including seasonal workers, and that those workers also use the PPE provided.

Under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, dutyholders such as farmers have a legal duty to report certain work-related injuries to HSE. Where required, HSE can and does investigate individual reports of work-related incidents across all industries, including farming. In addition, HSE also monitors the accident data that it receives under the above regulations, and tailors its subsequent engagement with the industry in the best, most efficient way to drive improvement in onsite health and safety standards. HSE has no plans to commission a specific review of injuries on farms employing seasonal workers.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Health and Safety Executive Inspections of farms employing workers on the Seasonal Worker visa were conducted in each of the last five years in (a) Scotland, (b) England and (c) Wales.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety, this includes workplace health and safety risks created in agriculture.

The table below shows the total number of farm inspections carried out by HSE over the last 5 years in Scotland, England and Wales. HSE’s farm inspection programme over those years focused on health and safety standards on site for all workers. No farm inspection programmes over the last 5 years were focused exclusively on one group of farm workers such as seasonal workers. If during a farm site visit, matters directly affecting a specific group or number of workers on a particular site were identified by the inspector, they would be dealt with accordingly.

Please see the figures for farm inspections conducted in each of the last five years in (a) Scotland, (b) England and (c) Wales:

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Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will meet with representatives from the Worker Support Centre to discuss reports of alleged non-payment of wages for workers on the Seasonal Worker Visa.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

We appreciate the valuable work the Worker Support Centre (WSC) does in supporting workers.

The Department acknowledges the challenges for seasonal workers published in the WSC’s Annual report.

I have asked officials to ensure that the WSC are given the opportunity to input their expertise as we move forward with the implementation of the Fair Work Agency.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will meet with representatives from the Worker Support Centre to discuss their 2024 Annual Report, published on 14 February 2025.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

We appreciate the valuable work the Worker Support Centre (WSC) does in supporting workers.

The Department acknowledges the challenges for seasonal workers published in the WSC’s Annual report.

I have asked officials to ensure that the WSC are given the opportunity to input their expertise as we move forward with the implementation of the Fair Work Agency.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many UK Visas and Immigration Compliance Unit inspections were carried out in each of the last three years in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales, and (d) Northern Ireland.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has plans to make an assessment of the potential impact of the Seasonal Worker visa scheme on recent trends in the level of worker exploitation.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the Seasonal Worker route under close and ongoing review, including the welfare of participating workers. The Government has noted the contents of the Worker Support Centre Annual Review 2024 and will give due consideration to the issues raised when reviewing the Seasonal Worker route.

A key objective of the route is to ensure that overseas workers are protected against modern slavery and other labour abuses. The sponsor licence regime places a broad range of responsibilities on Scheme Operators to ensure that the rights of migrant workers are protected.

Ministers will continue to engage with a range of interested parties on these issues, including the Seasonal Worker Interest Group.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has plans to formally respond to the Worker Support Centre Annual Report 2024, published on 14 February 2025.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the Seasonal Worker route under close and ongoing review, including the welfare of participating workers. The Government has noted the contents of the Worker Support Centre Annual Review 2024 and will give due consideration to the issues raised when reviewing the Seasonal Worker route.

A key objective of the route is to ensure that overseas workers are protected against modern slavery and other labour abuses. The sponsor licence regime places a broad range of responsibilities on Scheme Operators to ensure that the rights of migrant workers are protected.

Ministers will continue to engage with a range of interested parties on these issues, including the Seasonal Worker Interest Group.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will have discussions with the Seasonal Worker Interest Group on the welfare of workers on seasonal worker visas.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the Seasonal Worker route under close and ongoing review, including the welfare of participating workers. The Government has noted the contents of the Worker Support Centre Annual Review 2024 and will give due consideration to the issues raised when reviewing the Seasonal Worker route.

A key objective of the route is to ensure that overseas workers are protected against modern slavery and other labour abuses. The sponsor licence regime places a broad range of responsibilities on Scheme Operators to ensure that the rights of migrant workers are protected.

Ministers will continue to engage with a range of interested parties on these issues, including the Seasonal Worker Interest Group.

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