The government has not demonstrated a strong understanding of the
labour shortages facing the food and farming sector, the
Environment Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee said today.
In its response published today to the committee’s labour
shortages report published in April, the government does not
accept the committee’s recommendation to lower the English
language requirement for Skilled Worker Visa applicants in the
food and farming sector such as butchers. It also rejects the
committee’s recommendation to undertake a “lessons learnt”
exercise on the temporary short-term visa schemes established
last autumn. The government also turns down the committee’s
recommendation to make the Seasonal Workers Pilot a permanent
scheme.
However, the government announces that 10,000 additional seasonal
worker visas will be issued for the remainder of 2022, of which
2,000 will be allocated to the poultry sector. The Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs also says that it will
commission an independent review to tackle labour shortages in
the food supply chain.
In the light of the government’s response, the committee has
written to the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and
Immigration, David Neal, who recently announced he would be
carrying out an inspection of the immigration system as it
relates to the agricultural sector.
The letter highlights the
key findings of the committee’s December 2020 and April 2022
reports* on this topic, and the deficiencies of the government’s
replies – including the one published today.
The Chair of the EFRA Committee, Sir MP, said:
“The government’s overall response to our recommendations is
wholly inadequate. We continue to be concerned that labour
shortages in the food and farming sector pose real risks of
further price rises for consumers in supermarkets, reduced UK
competitiveness and increased amounts of imported
food.
“The government really must listen to the experts – our
farmers and our food producers. We need a more robust immigration
regime that allows the farming and food sector to plan ahead with
certainty and grow their businesses. Otherwise, we are placing in
danger the very future of the sector.”.
* “The UK’s new immigration policy
and the food supply chain” (published 22 December 2020); the
Government response to this
report was published on 14 May 2021;
“Labour shortages in the food and
farming sector” (published 6 April 2022); the Government response was
published on 23 June.
