Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the short-term visa scheme for poultry workers; and what steps her Department is taking to help prevent workers on that scheme from being in debt bondage.

In November 2021 we introduced a temporary concession enabling poultry workers to be recruited via the Seasonal Worker route, to ensure that there were sufficient workers to cover the surge in poultry production and preparation during the festive season. This received a positive response from the sector and received a good uptake, therefore we included provision for pre-Christmas poultry workers within the main Seasonal Worker route from Autumn 2022.

The Seasonal Worker 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.

We take the welfare of migrant workers extremely seriously and we are committed to working with DEFRA and the GLAA in order to ensure that workers are not subject to mistreatment, abuse or fall in debt bondage and that their time in the UK is positive and productive.