Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the survey by the National Farmers' Union of England and Wales, published in August 2022, on the potential impact of the shortage of agricultural workers on the harvest in the first half of 2022.

A total of 40,000 seasonal worker visas were available in 2022, with 38,000 of these going to the horticulture sector and 2,000 to the poultry sector. HM Government recognises the importance of a reliable source of seasonal labour for crop picking and packing, and that it is a key part of bringing in the harvest for the horticultural sector. That is why the Prime Minster committed to look at expanding seasonal workers schemes in the leadership campaign. In the meantime, we will continue to monitor the labour needs of the agriculture sector and the impacts of these additional visas.

My Department works with the agriculture sector - including the National Farmers Union of England and Wales - and other Government Departments to understand labour supply and demand, including for both permanent and seasonal workforce requirements, and to ensure there is a long-term strategy for the farming workforce.

As announced in the Government Food Strategy in June, HM Government has now commissioned an independent review which will consider how automation, domestic labour and migrant labour can contribute to tackling labour shortages in the food supply chain. The review will focus on farming, processing, and food and drink manufacturing as sectors which are critical for food production and food security.