Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has taken steps with Cabinet colleagues to issue guidance to people with horticultural seasonal worker visas on how to register with a GP; and what information his Department holds on the number and proportion of people with horticultural seasonal worker visas who registered with a GP in 2022.

The Home Office has no plans to issue guidance to people with Seasonal Worker visas as to how to register with a GP. Orientation information is a matter for their licenced scheme operator.

The Home Office holds no records on the numbers of Seasonal Workers who have registered with a GP, as this is not an immigration related metric.

In the event that a scheme operator for the Seasonal Worker route became unlicensed for any reason, the Home Office will consider each case on its own merits and tailor our response accordingly.

The Home Office does not hold data on the average number of weeks of work provided to workers on the horticultural seasonal worker visa scheme during (a) 2022 and (b) 2023. Since 12 April 2023, Seasonal Workers must receive a minimum of 32 hour’s pay for each week of their stay in the UK, regardless of whether work is available.

The Home Office does not hold data on how many workers on the horticultural seasonal worker visa scheme were injured at work during (a) 2022 and (b) 2023. Seasonal Workers enjoy the same workplace protections as resident workers, and as such workplace safety is a matter for the Health and Safety Executive.