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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of the Seasonal Worker visa on the adequacy of the number of people available to fill seasonal farming roles.

This Government is committed to ensuring that the farming sector has the labour it needs to support food security, including supporting domestic workers and skills, and investment in automation.

We commissioned the Independent Review into Labour Shortages in the Food Supply Chain to consider how we can further support this, and look forward to receiving the report by the summer.

As set out at the recent UK Farm to Fork Summit, we will make 45,000 Seasonal Worker visas available for 2023 and 2024, with an additional 10,000 if needed.