Third Report - The UK’s new immigration policy and the food supply chain
Select Committee
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
HC 231
22 December 2020
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Recommendations
4 results
1
In order to secure the labour it requires to maintain production levels under the new...
Recommendation
In order to secure the labour it requires to maintain production levels under the new immigration policy, the food supply chain will have to attract more resident staff. Although it must be recognised there are significant structural barriers preventing many …
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2
Para 25
The UK is competing globally for skilled labour, the availability of which is vital to...
Recommendation
The UK is competing globally for skilled labour, the availability of which is vital to the ongoing success of the UK food supply chain. It is important therefore that bureaucracy and fees are minimised, and their impact kept under review. …
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6
Food supply chain businesses should seek to attract the unemployed who may previously have worked...
Recommendation
Food supply chain businesses should seek to attract the unemployed who may previously have worked in other sectors of the UK economy through better pay and conditions and offering training opportunities. The Government should also play a role in supporting …
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12
We welcome the announcement in November of additional Government funding for new technology, and call...
Recommendation
We welcome the announcement in November of additional Government funding for new technology, and call upon Defra to publish a strategy within 6 months setting out how it will work with technology providers and the food supply chain to ensure …
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Conclusions (8) Observations and findings — click to expand
3
Conclusion
Para 29
The example of the veterinarian sector highlights the important role that overseas- trained employees undertake in the food supply chain, in this case working in abattoirs that are unattractive to UK-trained vets. In addition, these Official Veterinarians face an increase in their workload due to increased checks on exports 32 …
4
Conclusion
For those employing skilled workers, it is important to ensure that pay and conditions reflect the nature of the work in order to help attract more UK workers into the food supply chain. For example, the Government’s work to increase the number of Official Veterinarians and introduce Certification Support Officers …
5
Conclusion
By focusing on academic qualifications, the new immigration policy takes a narrow focus on skills, although we welcome the Government’s decision to reduce the threshold to the equivalent of A-levels or Scottish Highers (RQF3/SCQF6). We are concerned that this policy will pose challenges for food manufacturers and others in the …
7
Conclusion
The lack of a transition period for the introduction of the new immigration policy creates risks and therefore Defra, the Home Office and the Department for Work and Pensions must work together to closely monitor the food supply chain to monitor the impact of the absence of a low skilled …
8
Conclusion
Para 48
It is a matter of concern that there continues to be no single, agreed figure for the aggregate number and the breakdown by nationality of seasonal agricultural workers, given the importance of this data for the formulation of policy. The Government, employers and representative bodies must work together to develop …
9
Conclusion
Para 61
While we commend Defra for standing up the Pick for Britain scheme so quickly and for promoting it successfully, this cannot hide the fact that it did not achieve what it hoped to do: attract a significant number of British works to pick crops. Given the favourable conditions in which …
10
Conclusion
We therefore recommend that the Seasonal Workers Pilot for 2021 should be expanded to include other food supply chain and agricultural sectors beyond edible horticulture, and have a sufficiently generous cap that allows all businesses to recruit the labour they need. Given that farmers need to ensure that the crops …
11
Conclusion
Para 67
While the agricultural and food manufacturing sectors have a good record on investing, one way of meeting the challenges of the new immigration policy is for the food supply chain, assisted by innovative and well-designed Government schemes, to become more capital intensive and both drive forward and exploit technological opportunities. …