A north-east MP has called for a UK Government pilot scheme for
seasonal workers in the fruit farming industry to be expanded.
Scottish Conservative MP for Gordon raised the issue with Cabinet
Office Minister – who was standing in for
at Prime Questions today.
Mr Clark, who spent 25 years in the food and drink industry, said
the initiative for non-EU workers should increase from 2,500
people last year to 10,000 this year and up to 30-40,000 next
year.
Under the terms of the current pilot scheme, migrant workers can
come to the UK for up to six-months to help alleviate labour
shortages at peak times of the year.
Many fruit and vegetable growers, however, have said that the
scheme does not go far enough.
Today, Mr Clark said that an expansion of the scheme would help
“fulfil the British appetite” for strawberries and raspberries.
In response, Mr Lidington said: “As I would have expected, my
honourable friend rightly champions both the produce of his
constituency and the needs of businesses there.
“What I would say to him is that, obviously, we have established
a two year pilot that provides for a six month scheme for non-EU
migrants to work on UK farms that was specifically designed to
help the horticulture sector.
“The pilot was never designed to meet the full labour needs of
the horticultural sector, and clearly we will need to evaluate
what happens with that pilot, but I know that the Secretary of
State for Scotland and the Secretary of State for agriculture
will be looking very closely at the impact on the North-east of
Scotland.“
Speaking afterwards, Mr Clark said: “Migrant workers are the
backbone of many businesses in the agriculture and horticulture
sectors.
“The UK Government’s pilot scheme was a welcome starting point,
but there are now acute shortages of labour that must be
addressed.
“I would like to see the quota increased to 10,000 this year and
for the pilot to become a fully operational scheme by 2020.
“I appreciate the response from the Cabinet Office Minister, and
I will be taking this up with the Home Office.”
Ends
Notes to Editors
Link to ’s question today and the
response from
https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/3dadff70-8b38-4207-aaa5-64603d1785ac?in=12:24:18&out=12:25:36
The UK Government pilot scheme was announced in September last
year
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-pilot-scheme-to-bring-2500-seasonal-workers-to-uk-farms
