The Government has introduced a new immigration pilot scheme for 2019 and 2020 enabling up to 2,500 non-European Economic Area migrant workers, including seasonal workers from Ukraine, to come to the UK to undertake seasonal employment in the edible horticultural sector.<\/p>
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This pilot will test the effectiveness of our immigration system at alleviating seasonal labour shortages during peak production periods, whilst reducing immigration to sustainable levels and continuing to welcome those who make an invaluable contribution.<\/p>
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This pilot is not designed to meet the full labour needs of the horticultural sector. Rather we are seeking to evaluate the immigration pilot\u2019s ability to assist in alleviating labour shortages during peak production periods.<\/p>
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Defra and the Home Office will work closely to monitor the pilot, and review its performance against the stated objectives. This pilot will help inform our understanding of how such immigration routes perform in a modern global context, and support the design of our new immigration system laid out in the recent White Paper. Defra is working to improve the official evidence based on temporary worker supply and demand, through a new quarterly survey of growers, the results of which we will consider carefully. We are also working closely with industry to understand trends in labour demand and supply.<\/p>
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Immigration issues are reserved and remain the policy responsibility of the Home Office. After we leave the EU, we must ensure that we have an immigration system that works in the best interest of the whole of the UK.<\/p>
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Defra is working closely with the Home Office to ensure that there is a long term strategy for agricultural labour as part of the future immigration strategy. The Home Office has launched a 12-month engagement programme with sectors across the UK to enable businesses and other stakeholders to shape the development of the future skills based immigration system.<\/p>
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As such, there are no plans to expand this pilot at this time. We wish to fully assess this pilot and the results will help to inform the design of the new immigration system from January 2021.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4161", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Gardiner of Kimble"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-07-16", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-07-16T14:24:07.717Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "13"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-07-03", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Agriculture: Seasonal Workers"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the assistance that seasonal farm workers from the Ukraine could provide in meeting the UK\u2019s agricultural requirements; and what barriers, if any, there are to their entry.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1137", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Patten"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Patten"} ], "uin" : "HL16915"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1136773", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1136773/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
In the event of a no-deal Brexit, overseas vets already registered with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) or in the process of registering by 30 October 2019 will continue to have their qualifications recognised. Government has legislated to ensure that new vets wishing to work here can also register with the RCVS if their qualification meets the required equivalent standards. Individuals with a degree that does not meet the RCVS equivalent will be able to apply to sit the RCVS statutory examination.<\/p>
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The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is offering free training for Official Vets (OVs) to sign Export Health Certificates (EHCs) for food products: 830 have enrolled and 379 have qualified. The total number of OVs who can sign EHCs for food products has increased by more than 300 since 8 February to 972.<\/p>
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Meanwhile, the Food Standards Agency and Animal and Plant Health Agency have reviewed processes in order to maximise the effectiveness of staff, including recruiting and training more official auxiliary staff. APHA have created a new role of Certification Support Officer to handle a number of preparatory and administrative tasks for assuring UK EHCs, under vet management. The supervising vet will retain responsibility for the assurances provided.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4161", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Gardiner of Kimble"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-07-09", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-07-09T15:37:51.783Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "13"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-07-03", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Veterinary Medicine: Migrant Workers"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans are in place to guarantee access to sufficient numbers of Official Veterinarians from outside the UK in the event of a no-deal Brexit.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/2478", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Rogan"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Rogan"} ], "uin" : "HL16923"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 2, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }