Recommendations & Conclusions
4 items
6
Recommendation
Fourth report - Labour shortages in the…
Not Addressed
We do, however, welcome the fact that the Government was willing to introduce temporary short-term visa schemes for the food and farming sector but it should learn the lessons from the operation and performance of these schemes and apply them to any similar schemes that are needed in the future. …
Government response. The government responded by discussing the importance of English language ability for workers, which was not the recommendation made.
7
Recommendation
Fourth report - Labour shortages in the…
Not Addressed
We are concerned that, despite existing channels, the Government did not acknowledge the sector’s mounting concerns about labour shortages earlier in 2021. The Government should not have been “waiting for the data” before taking any action. It should have had contingency plans to mitigate the fairly obvious risks and developed …
Government response. The government's response focuses on the cost of applying for a sponsor license and immigration skills charge. The response does not address the recommendation to improve government engagement with industry or the Food Industry Resilience Forum.
10
Recommendation
Fourth report - Labour shortages in the…
Not Addressed
We are disappointed that the Home Office Minister for Safe and Legal Migration refused to recognise that businesses recruiting overseas labour face costs far in excess 36 Labour shortages in the food and farming sector of the visa application charges. We were not satisfied with the Minister’s response when he …
Government response. The government announced that the Seasonal Worker route would be extended to 2024 and released an additional 10,000 visas but failed to address the specific request to consult with the sector on additional visa costs.
11
Recommendation
Fourth report - Labour shortages in the…
Not Addressed
Given the labour shortages facing the food and farming sector, we are surprised that the Government chose to ignore its own Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) advice on which roles should be added to the Shortage Occupation List (SOL). While we note the Minister for Safe and Legal Migration’s argument that …
Government response. The government announced that the Seasonal Worker route would be extended to 2024 and released an additional 10,000 visas, but failed to address the recommendation to add food and farming roles to the Shortage Occupation List.