Fourth report - Labour shortages in the food and farming sector

We welcome some of the reforms that Government has made to the Seasonal Workers Pilot, including accepting our recommendation that the scheme is extended to the ornamental sector and the provisional announcement of the number of Seasonal Worker Visas for … Read more We welcome some of the reforms that Government has made to the Seasonal Workers Pilot, including accepting our recommendation that the scheme is extended to the ornamental sector and the provisional announcement of the number of Seasonal Worker Visas for 2022 through to 2024. Given the expansion of the SWP scheme to include ornamentals, we recommend that the Government should immediately make available the additional 10,000 visas. The Government should publish monthly updates on the seasonal labour market to create an evidence base for whether further visas should be issued. The Home Office must also engage closely with the sector to ensure a smooth flow of seasonal workers and to make sure that UK Visas and Immigration is resourced to swiftly process Seasonal Worker Visas. Show less

We also call on the Government to make the Seasonal Workers Pilot a permanent scheme and for it to commit to announcing the number of visas that will be available under the scheme on a rolling five-year basis. (Paragraph 69) Longer term solutions