PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Scheme (27 November 2023)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the seasonal agricultural worker scheme on a multi-year basis.

Asked by:
Dame Harriett Baldwin (Conservative)

We appreciate that farmers would like longer term assurances on the Seasonal Worker visa route, and we continue to work extensively to understand employers’ needs and demands on the visa route through regular engagement with industry. It is currently confirmed until the end of 2024, with an initial visa allocation of 45,000 for horticulture and 2,000 for poultry.

To inform future decisions on labour across the sector, the Government commissioned John Shropshire to carry out an independent review considering how automation, domestic labour and migrant labour could contribute to tackling labour shortages in our sectors, including horticulture. The report was published in June 2023, with the Government Response due shortly. At the same time, the Government will set out how it will support the sector to access the labour it needs alongside actions to reduce the sector’s reliance on migrant labour including via our work on automation and promoting domestic labour procurement and training.

The Migration Advisory Committee are also carrying out a review of the Seasonal Worker visa route, considering all aspects of the route, with a report due in early 2024.

Answered by:
Sir Mark Spencer (Conservative)
5 December 2023