Labour shortages in the food and farming sector

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 15 Sep 2021 Closed: 20 Jul 2022 Parliament page
There have been reports of labour shortages affecting some businesses throughout the food and farming sector, for example: farms have been unable to hire all the seasonal workers they need to harvest food (and pick other crops such as flowers); businesses in the food and drink processing sector – the … Read more
10 Recommendations
5 Conclusions
1 Report
4 Oral sessions
3 Letters
4 Events
Activity timeline 13 events
23 Jun
2022
Report published
23 Jun
2022
Correspondence
6 Apr
2022
Report published
23 Feb
2022
Correspondence
14 Dec
2021
Oral evidence
14 Dec
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Wilson Room, Portcullis House
16 Nov
2021
Oral evidence
16 Nov
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 6, Palace of Westminster
9 Nov
2021
Oral evidence
9 Nov
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
26 Oct
2021
Oral evidence
26 Oct
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 8, Palace of Westminster
Oral evidence sessions 4 sessions
14 Dec 2021
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Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Kevin Foster MP · Home Office Philippa Rouse · SRO Future Border & Immigration System Programme, Migration & Borders Group
16 Nov 2021
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Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
David Kennedy · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs George Eustice · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
9 Nov 2021
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Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Andrew Opie · British Retail Consortium (BRC) Dr Ben Broadbent · Bank of England Kate Nicholls · UKHospitality Madeleine Sumption · Migration Observatory Mr Tom Southall · Cold Chain Federation Professor Jo Swaffield · University of York
26 Oct 2021
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Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Charlie Dewhirst · National Pig Association Derek Jarman · British Protected Ornamentals Association Graeme Dear · British Poultry Council Ian Wright · Food and Drink Federation Mr James Russell · British Veterinary Association Mr Nick Allen · British Meat Processors Association Tom Bradshaw · National Farmers' Union (NFU)
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Fourth report - Labour shortages in the food and farming sector HC 713 6 Apr 2022 15 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
4 results
Clear
6 Recommendation Not Addressed
Fourth report - Labour shortages i…
We do, however, welcome the fact that the Government was willing to introduce temporary short-term...
We do, however, welcome the fact that the Government was willing to introduce temporary short-term visa schemes for the food and farming sector but it should learn the lessons from the operation and performance of these schemes and apply them … Read more
Government Response
The government responded by discussing the importance of English language ability for workers, which was not the recommendation made.
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7 Recommendation Not Addressed
Fourth report - Labour shortages i…
We are concerned that, despite existing channels, the Government did not acknowledge the sector’s mounting...
We are concerned that, despite existing channels, the Government did not acknowledge the sector’s mounting concerns about labour shortages earlier in 2021. The Government should not have been “waiting for the data” before taking any action. It should have had … Read more
Government Response
The government's response focuses on the cost of applying for a sponsor license and immigration skills charge. The response does not address the recommendation to improve government engagement with industry or the Food Industry Resilience Forum.
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10 Recommendation Not Addressed
Fourth report - Labour shortages i…
We are disappointed that the Home Office Minister for Safe and Legal Migration refused to...
We are disappointed that the Home Office Minister for Safe and Legal Migration refused to recognise that businesses recruiting overseas labour face costs far in excess 36 Labour shortages in the food and farming sector of the visa application charges. … Read more
Government Response
The government announced that the Seasonal Worker route would be extended to 2024 and released an additional 10,000 visas but failed to address the specific request to consult with the sector on additional visa costs.
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11 Recommendation Not Addressed
Fourth report - Labour shortages i…
Given the labour shortages facing the food and farming sector, we are surprised that the...
Given the labour shortages facing the food and farming sector, we are surprised that the Government chose to ignore its own Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) advice on which roles should be added to the Shortage Occupation List (SOL). While we … Read more
Government Response
The government announced that the Seasonal Worker route would be extended to 2024 and released an additional 10,000 visas, but failed to address the recommendation to add food and farming roles to the Shortage Occupation List.
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Government Response AI assessment · 15 of 10 classified
Accepted 3
Accepted in Part 2
Acknowledged 4
Deferred 2
Not Addressed 4
Total 10 recs + 5 conclusions
Correspondence 3 letters
23 Jun 2022 Correspondence from the Chair to Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, dated 14 June
Parliament page
23 Feb 2022 Correspondence from Minister Prentis re: Labour shortages in the food and farming sector inquiry, Pig sector, dated 17 February
Parliament page
16 Sep 2021 Correspondence to the Home Secretary relating to the inquiry into Labour shortages in the food and farming sector, 14 September 2021
Parliament page