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 an adequate supply of labour in the food supply chain.

Defra is aware of the impact that labour shortages are having on the food supply chain and we continue to speak regularly with the sector and other government departments to understand labour supply and demand, including both permanent and seasonal workforce requirements.

To inform future decisions on labour across the sector, Defra commissioned John Shropshire to carry out an Independent Review into Labour Shortages in the Food Supply Chain throughout 2022 and 2023, considering how automation, domestic labour and migrant labour could contribute to tackling labour shortages in our sectors. This report was published on 30 June 2023 and the government response – which will also be informed by the Review of Automation in Horticulture – is expected to be published in early 2024.

At the same time as the response, the government will set out how it will support the sector to access the labour it needs alongside actions to reduce the sector’s reliance on migrant labour including via our work on automation and promoting domestic labour procurement and training.

Alongside this, the Government announced last May that there would be 45,000 Seasonal Worker visas for the horticulture sector in 2024, with a further 2000 for seasonal poultry workers, ensuring these sectors can plan their workforce needs for the year ahead with confidence.