Source · Select Committees · Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Recommendation 10
10
Not Addressed
Paragraph: 52
We are disappointed that the Home Office Minister for Safe and Legal Migration refused to...
Recommendation
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 refused to accept this fact. We reiterate our previous recommendation that the Government must urgently consult with the sector to establish what additional costs businesses face when applying for visas for vital overseas labour and to develop an action plan to minimise bureaucratic barriers and process costs. We call on the Government to publish a report and action plan within six months of the publication date of this Report.
Government response summary AI-generated
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.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
52
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government · verbatim extract
Not Addressed
The cost of applying for a sponsor licence is £536 for small employers and £1,476 for large employers. The Immigration Skills Charge is also reduced (to £364/year) for small employers. The other immigration-related costs quoted in Table 3 of the report are accurate, other than a recent slight uplift in the Skilled Worker visa fee from £610 to £625. The Home Office fees (being the sponsor licence application fee, the certificate of sponsorship fee and the visa application fee) make up less than 10% of the £425,050 total stated in Table 3. Income from these fees charged plays a vital role in the Home Office’s ability to run a sustainable Migration and Borders system. Any income generated above the estimated unit cost of administering an application contributes to funding the wider operation of the system, but the system also still requires some funding through general taxation. Fees are set taking account of the charging powers provided by Section 68(9) of the Immigration Act 2014, which include the ability to set fees based on: the cost of processing the application, the benefits and entitlements provided by a successful application and the wider cost of the Migration and Borders system. Full details can be reviewed via the following link: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/22/section/68. As well as these fees, the Home Office also collects funds raised by the Immigration Skills Charge, which is provided to the consolidated fund and supports DfE’s skills programmes, and the Immigration Health Surcharge, which supports the NHS. It was a manifesto pledge of this Government to increase the health surcharge to ensure it covers the full cost of use. The £624 charge compares favorably with other countries, which often require migrant workers to take out private health insurance. Temporary workers who come to the UK for six months or less are not required to pay the charge. The Immigration Skills Charge is intentionally designed to act as a cost incentive, to encourage employers to consider training and development of resident workers over recruiting migrant workers. Labour shortages in the food and farming sector: Government response 7 Shortage Occupation List
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