Agriculture: Seasonal Workers

(asked on 12th May 2021) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of agricultural workers for the harvesting of crops in 2021.


Answered by
Victoria Prentis Portrait
Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
This question was answered on 21st May 2021

This year Defra is working closely with industry to ensure that our farmers and growers have the labour they need for 2021 and beyond. Defra is regularly speaking with recruiters, growers, unions and associations, and making use of all available information to understand the national labour supply picture.

The Seasonal Workers Pilot has been expanded for one year, with 30,000 visas granted for workers to come to the UK, from EU or non-EU countries, for a period of up to six months to pick and package fruit and vegetables on our farms.

In 2021 and beyond, food and farming businesses will continue to be able to rely on EU nationals living in the UK with settled or pre-settled status. Almost 4.8 million EU citizens and their families have been granted settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to date, and the application deadline is 30 June 2021. EU nationals who have settled status can continue to travel to the UK to do seasonal work in 2021.

To help with these efforts, Defra will build on the success of last year’s domestic recruitment campaign, working with industry and DWP to raise awareness of career opportunities within the horticulture sector among UK workers. We will also explore the potential for automation to meet future labour demands of the sector.

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