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Written question asked by Daniel Zeichner (Labour) on Monday, 27 June 2022, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 29 June 2022. It was answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury (Conservative) on Monday, 4 July 2022 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Agriculture: Seasonal Workers

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of making 40,000 visas available for seasonal workers on the labour needs of the agricultural sector.

Answer

Defra works with the agriculture sector and other government departments to understand labour supply and demand, including for both permanent and seasonal workforce requirements, and to ensure there is a long-term strategy for the farming workforce.

Following an announcement in the Food Strategy White Paper the extra 10,000 visas have now been released for the Seasonal Worker Visa Route (bringing the total to 40,000 visas for 2022) with 8,000 of these going to the horticulture sector and 2,000 to the poultry sector.

We will continue to monitor the labour needs of the agriculture sector and the impacts of these additional visas.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
25876
Session
2022-23
Subjects
Agriculture Migrant workers Seasonal workers Visas
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk