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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure an adequate supply of labour on farms in (1) England, (2) Northern Ireland, (3) Wales, and (4) Scotland.

The Seasonal Workers Pilot is providing thousands of non-EU workers to farms across the UK this year. Immigration is a reserved matter and the Seasonal Workers Pilot is a nationwide pilot, with a nationwide quota. The Government has placed a specific duty on the operators to ensure that all regions of the UK benefit from this pilot.

While restrictions due to COVID-19 initially delayed the arrival of some Pilot workers, Defra and the Home Office worked closely with Pilot operators to enable workers to reach the UK. The Visa Application Centres in Ukraine and Belarus, which were temporarily closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, reopened on 1 June. This allowed significant numbers of Pilot workers from those countries to obtain a visa and travel to the UK.

We are aware of the wider impact that restrictions on travel from other countries, as a result of COVID-19, has had on the number of seasonal workers coming to work in the UK. We are working closely with industry and government officials in Scotland and Wales to help our world-leading farmers and growers access the labour they need over the busy harvest months. All are supportive of the joint Defra and industry ‘Pick for Britain’ campaign and website, aimed at driving awareness of seasonal roles on farms. We understand that for England the demand for seasonal workers is currently being met, and we are closely monitoring the situation throughout the rest of the summer.

Defra discussed with officials at DAERA the plans for the Pick for Britain website and their thoughts on a future public -acing campaign to attract more seasonal workers from the UK. The feedback received was that DAERA was working closely with industry representatives in Northern Ireland and would use the existing Department for Communities website – JobCentre Online (JCOL) to advertise local opportunities. The website also provided a link to the Pick for Britain initiative.