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PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Agriculture: Seasonal Workers (19 July 2018)

Question Asked

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to reintroduce a seasonal agricultural workers scheme.

Asked by:
Sir John Hayes (Conservative)

Answer

The Government understands the importance of seasonal labour in supporting a successful and effective agricultural sector, and is considering how best to support the needs of the sector both before and after the UK leaves the EU. We keep our position on seasonal labour under close review.

Until the end of December 2020, employers in the agricultural and food processing sectors can recruit EU citizens to fill vacancies, and those arriving to work will be able to stay in the UK afterwards. In June 2018, the Home Office announced further details about how EU citizens and their families can obtain settled status in the UK.

Defra is working closely with the Home Office as they seek to develop a new immigration framework to ensure that the UK has a controlled but flexible migration policy that considers access to seasonal agricultural labour.


Answered by:
Dr Thérèse Coffey (Conservative)
27 July 2018

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