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1000294

	registered interest
	date	02/11/2018
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Agriculture: Migrant Workers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to ensure access by non-UK non-seasonal workers to the agri-food sector after UK leaves the EU.
	tabling member constituency	Na h-Eileanan an Iar
	tabling member printed	Angus Brendan MacNeil
	uin	187312
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/02/2019 answer text <p>I refer the Honourable Member to the response that I gave to a question from the Honourable Member for Darlington on 22 October (180695).</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 06/02/2019 15:16:03 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	1546 label Biography information for Angus Brendan MacNeil

1137061

	registered interest
	date	04/07/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Agriculture: Migrant Workers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to encourage EU nationals working in the agricultural and food production sectors to remain in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.
	tabling member constituency	Stroud
	tabling member printed	Dr David Drew
	uin	273321
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government recognises the valuable contribution which EU citizens make to the UK. The EU Settlement Scheme, which enables them to obtain the UK immigration status they need to remain here permanently after we leave the European Union, opened fully on 30 March 2019. By 10 June 2019, more than 800,000 applications had been received under the scheme and almost 700,000 people had been granted status.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 09/07/2019 11:14:26 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	252 label Biography information for Dr David Drew

1054560

	registered interest
	date	04/02/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Agriculture: Migrant Workers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the paper entitled The UK future skills-based immigration system, published by the Home Office on 19 December 2018, what discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on the effect of the recently announced skills-based immigration system on (a) the food and farming sector and (b) the UK’s security of food supply.
	tabling member constituency	Westmorland and Lonsdale
	tabling member printed	Tim Farron
	uin	216166
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2019 answer text <p>It is a priority of this Government to enable an innovative, productive and competitive food supply chain.</p><p>Whilst the UK prepares to leave the EU, Defra is working closely with the Home Office to ensure that there is a long term strategy for the food and farming workforce as part of the future immigration policy.</p><p>Following publication of the Immigration White Paper on 19 December, the Home Office has initiated an extensive twelve month programme of targeted engagement across the UK, and with the EU and international partners, to capture views and ensure that we design a future system that works for the whole of the UK.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 07/02/2019 14:13:29 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	1591 label Biography information for Tim Farron

1180179

	registered interest
	date	24/02/2020
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Agriculture: Migrant Workers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) EU and (b) overseas nationals employed as (i) semi-skilled and (ii) unskilled workers in agriculture.
	tabling member constituency	North Thanet
	tabling member printed	Sir Roger Gale
	uin	19730
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2020 answer text <p>The information requested at this level of detail is not held by Defra. However, we can provide information taken from the ONS Annual Population Survey which shows the number of EU/EEA nationals working permanently in the agricultural sector for the whole of the UK. These figures will not include seasonal workers living in communal or temporary accommodation and do not show a distinction between semi-skilled and unskilled workers in agriculture.</p><p> </p><p>The ONS Annual Population Survey showed that the number of EEA nationals working permanently in UK agriculture in 2019 was approximately 18,000.</p><p> </p><p>Further ONS data suggests that meat processing (48%), fish processing (46%), fruit and veg processing (35%) and the manufacture of other food products (27%) had high proportions of non-UK EU nationals in their workforce in 2019.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 02/03/2020 12:38:29 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	87 label Biography information for Sir Roger Gale

1180182

	registered interest
	date	24/02/2020
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Agriculture: Migrant Workers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the additional costs incurred by the (a) agricultural and (b) horticultural sectors as a result of the proposed immigration controls on (i) semi-skilled and (ii) unskilled workers.
	tabling member constituency	North Thanet
	tabling member printed	Sir Roger Gale
	uin	19733
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2020 answer text <p>The information requested at this level of detail on employment numbers is not held by Defra. Defra is considering the latest data and working closely with industry to understand labour demand and supply, including both permanent and seasonal workforce requirements.</p><p> </p><p>The information requested on estimates of additional costs incurred as a result of the new points-based immigration system is not held by Defra.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis grouped question UIN 19732 question first answered 02/03/2020 12:44:38 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	87 label Biography information for Sir Roger Gale

1185545

	registered interest
	date	16/03/2020
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Agriculture: Migrant Workers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to issue guidance on minimum qualifying annual pay for EU nationals seeking permits to work in the agricultural industry.
	tabling member constituency	Shrewsbury and Atcham
	tabling member printed	Daniel Kawczynski
	uin	29966
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2020 answer text <p>This Government is fully committed to protecting the rights of migrant workers and ensuring that they are treated fairly in the workforce, including seasonal workers in agriculture.</p><p> </p><p>In recent years, there has been tremendous change to wider employment legislation, which protects and benefits workers in all sectors of the economy. The national minimum wage has been raised and the new national living wage introduced.</p><p> </p><p>A key objective of the Seasonal Workers Pilot, a scheme for non-EEA migrant workers, is to ensure that they are adequately protected against modern slavery and other labour abuses. The operators of the scheme are licensed by the Gangmasters Labour and Abuse Authority (GLAA). The GLAA ensure that all workers are placed with farms who adhere to all relevant legislation, including paying the National Minimum Wage.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 19/03/2020 17:19:14 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	1566 label Biography information for Daniel Kawczynski

1185546

	registered interest
	date	16/03/2020
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Agriculture: Migrant Workers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that an adequate number of work permits is issued to cover the demand for workers in the egg industry and associated sectors.
	tabling member constituency	Shrewsbury and Atcham
	tabling member printed	Daniel Kawczynski
	uin	29967
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2020 answer text <p>We are actively monitoring the impacts of COVID-19 and related control measures with significant input from industry stakeholders.</p><p>We are urgently considering which measures could be put in place to help mitigate the impact of the current situation on access to labour in the agri-food chain.</p><p>The Chancellor has announced an initial £330 billion will be made available to support UK businesses. He also set out a package of temporary, timely and targeted measures to support public services, people and businesses through this period of disruption caused by COVID-19.</p><p>After the transition to a new immigration system in 2021, businesses will continue to be able to rely on EU nationals living in the UK with settled or pre-settled status and there will continue to be other flexibility in the system and the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has already pointed to the estimated 170,000 recently arrived non-EU citizens currently in low-skilled occupations.</p><p>The EU Settlement Scheme, which opened in March 2019, has already received more than 3.3 million applications from EU citizens who are able to stay and work in the UK – and people have until June 2021 to apply.</p><p>The government will introduce a new points based system from January 2021 which will include an employer-led route for skilled workers to enter the UK, both EU and non-EU citizens. The skilled worker route will not be capped, there will be no requirement to conduct a Resident Labour Market Test and the salary and skills thresholds have been lowered.</p><p>These changes will ensure that a wide pool of skilled workers will be able to come to the UK from anywhere in the world.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 19/03/2020 16:52:32 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	1566 label Biography information for Daniel Kawczynski

1625882

	registered interest
	date	05/05/2023
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Agriculture: Migrant Workers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the living and working conditions of migrant farm workers.
	tabling member constituency	Richmond Park
	tabling member printed	Sarah Olney
	uin	183940
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2023 answer text <p>The Home Office sponsor licence regime places a broad range of responsibilities on the operators of the Seasonal Workers visa route to safeguard migrant workers under the scheme, including protecting their rights and ensuring effective enforcement of UK employment laws.</p><p> </p><p>The Government keeps these protections under close and ongoing review. A new team within the Home Office compliance network focuses on ensuring sponsors are abiding by workers’ rights by improving training and processes for compliance inspectors and creating clear policies and guidance for robust action for scheme operators where workers are at risk of exploitation. Should any of the selected operators fall short in these duties action will be taken, up to and including the revocation of their sponsor licence.</p><p>The Home Office and Defra maintain regular contact with scheme operators to ensure that they adhere to the stringent requirements set for ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the seasonal workers. All Seasonal Worker visa route operators are also required to hold a Gangmasters Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) licence, as a condition of maintaining their role as a scheme operator. The responsibilities and remit of the GLAA are set out on their website.</p><p>Defra continues to speak regularly with the agricultural sector including on matters relating to the welfare of seasonal workers. Defra also conducts an annual survey of workers, providing them with a route to provide direct feedback to us on their experience while working here including their living and working conditions. In addition, Defra officials engage with the industry and non-profit organisation led Seasonal Worker Taskforce, which focuses on practical actions to improve the responsible recruitment and employment of migrant workers into UK farms.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer grouped question UIN 183941 question first answered 15/05/2023 09:03:29 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4591 label Biography information for Sarah Olney

1625883

	registered interest
	date	05/05/2023
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Agriculture: Migrant Workers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions her Department has held with agricultural producers on the living and working conditions of migrant farm workers who live on-site.
	tabling member constituency	Richmond Park
	tabling member printed	Sarah Olney
	uin	183941
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2023 answer text <p>The Home Office sponsor licence regime places a broad range of responsibilities on the operators of the Seasonal Workers visa route to safeguard migrant workers under the scheme, including protecting their rights and ensuring effective enforcement of UK employment laws.</p><p> </p><p>The Government keeps these protections under close and ongoing review. A new team within the Home Office compliance network focuses on ensuring sponsors are abiding by workers’ rights by improving training and processes for compliance inspectors and creating clear policies and guidance for robust action for scheme operators where workers are at risk of exploitation. Should any of the selected operators fall short in these duties action will be taken, up to and including the revocation of their sponsor licence.</p><p>The Home Office and Defra maintain regular contact with scheme operators to ensure that they adhere to the stringent requirements set for ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the seasonal workers. All Seasonal Worker visa route operators are also required to hold a Gangmasters Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) licence, as a condition of maintaining their role as a scheme operator. The responsibilities and remit of the GLAA are set out on their website.</p><p>Defra continues to speak regularly with the agricultural sector including on matters relating to the welfare of seasonal workers. Defra also conducts an annual survey of workers, providing them with a route to provide direct feedback to us on their experience while working here including their living and working conditions. In addition, Defra officials engage with the industry and non-profit organisation led Seasonal Worker Taskforce, which focuses on practical actions to improve the responsible recruitment and employment of migrant workers into UK farms.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer grouped question UIN 183940 question first answered 15/05/2023 09:03:29 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4591 label Biography information for Sarah Olney

1027181

	registered interest
	date	17/12/2018
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Agriculture: Migrant Workers
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the interests of the UK’s meat processing sector and other agriculture industries are accounted for in their immigration policy after Brexit.
	tabling member printed	Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
	uin	HL12363
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/12/2018 answer text <p>It is a priority of this Government to enable an innovative, productive and competitive food supply chain, which invests in its people and skills. Defra is engaging actively with the Brexit Livestock Group, which was set up in early 2017 to provide a forum in which to discuss issues common to the livestock sector as a whole.</p><p>Defra understands the importance of labour in supporting a successful and effective meat processing sector, and is considering how best to support the needs of the sector both before and after the UK leaves the EU.</p><p>The UK Government has guaranteed that EU citizens resident in the UK by 29 March 2019 will be able to stay and we will take the necessary steps to protect their rights in a ‘no deal’ scenario. They will continue to be able to work, study, and access benefits and services in the UK on the same basis after we leave the EU as they do now.</p><p>Defra is working closely with other government departments, devolved administrations, partners, and businesses so that the food and farming industry is at the heart of EU exit preparations. We continue to work with industry partners to understand the challenges and opportunities in order to ensure a smooth transition.</p><p>Defra is also working to ensure that the meat processing sector has access to a sufficient number of veterinary surgeons, meat hygiene inspectors, slaughterers and livestock drivers.</p><p>In the first phase of the withdrawal agreement we secured agreement on the continued recognition of professional qualifications, including Vets, where recognition decisions were received or were ongoing, before the withdrawal date.</p><p>After we leave the EU, we must have an immigration system which works in the best interests of the UK – controlling immigration whilst continuing to ensure we have access to the labour we need.</p><p>Defra is working closely with the Home Office to ensure that there is a long term strategy for the food and farming workforce, including the meat processing sector, as part of the future immigration policy.</p><p>A White Paper on the future border and immigration system was published on 19 December 2018. This paper sets out the Government’s proposals for the UK’s future immigration system after our exit from the EU.</p><p>For the longer term, Defra is working with industry to raise awareness of the career opportunities within the agriculture and food industry to attract domestic workers, and is exploring the potential for innovation and automation in meeting future labour demands.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble grouped question UIN HL12364 HL12367 question first answered 28/12/2018 13:13:53 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	384 label Biography information for Baroness McIntosh of Pickering