The Home Office has extended the Seasonal Worker scheme to allow 45,000 temporary workers to pick and pack edible and ornamental crops in the UK in 2023.
This will allow farm businesses to recruit foreign workers to come to the UK for up to six months through the Seasonal Worker visa route – an uplift of 15,000 compared with what was available to businesses at the start of 2022.
The UK government says it will keep this number under review, with the potential to increase by a further 10,000 if necessary.
See also: Report shows horticulture sector on a knife edge
The first 4,000 visas will be made available to operators next week, to ensure that daffodil growers have the labour available for their harvest at the start of the year.
The announcement follows months of lobbying from the NFU, the Tenant Farmers Association and others, who had urged the government to increase the number of visas to at least 55,000 to provide security for domestic horticulture businesses facing soaring costs and a lack of labour to harvest their crops.
TFA chief executive George Dunn said: “The industry had asked for provision for 55,000 and therefore it is envisaged that work will need to start soon on setting out the justification for bringing in the additional 10,000 workers.
“Whilst it is understood the agreement with the Home Office has not confirmed details over wage rates, it is vitally important that employers are not required to pay a premium to employ these workers given the massively increased costs faced by businesses already.”
The government said the changes will provide certainty for farmers in a boost to British food production and help to tackle the labour shortages and rising input costs.
‘We have listened’ – Defra
Defra farm minister Mark Spencer said: “We’ve listened to the UK’s horticulture sector, and today’s announcement will provide our growers with the labour they need to bring in the harvest and continue to put their produce on our tables.”
Alongside expanding the number of visas available, the government will be appointing new scheme operators to help with the efficient operation of the visa route and help safeguard worker welfare.
A new team will also focus on ensuring sponsors are abiding by workers’ rights by improving training, processes for compliance inspectors and creating clear policies and guidance for robust action for scheme operators where workers are at risk of exploitation.
Domestic focus
The government said it is also taking action to encourage all sectors to make employment more attractive to UK domestic workers.
Defra is working with industry and the Department for Work and Pensions to raise awareness of career opportunities within the food and drink sector among UK workers.
Short-term visas of less than 12 months, such as the Seasonal Agricultural Worker visa, do not meet the definition of a long-term migrant and, therefore, are not included in net migration figures.
The government is also working to boost automation in the food sector, with £12.5m recently announced to boost the development of automation and robotic technologies on farms.
