Select committee: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Recommendation 5
Third Report - The UK’s new immigration policy and the food supply chain
Published 22 Dec 2020
Addressed to Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Labour in the food supply chain All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
By focusing on academic qualifications, the new immigration policy takes a narrow focus on skills, although we welcome the Government’s decision to reduce the threshold to the equivalent of A-levels or Scottish Highers (RQF3/SCQF6). We are concerned that this policy will pose challenges for food manufacturers and others in the food supply chain who use lower skilled or lower paid staff, especially because of the limited time to prepare, exacerbated by the covid-19 pandemic, and the absence of a transition period (as proposed in the superseded 2018 White Paper). However, the anticipated rise in UK unemployment next year might provide opportunities for the sector to encourage people to change careers—the food supply chain can do more to encourage this by making itself more attractive to potential employees. The Government can also take steps to support the sector to encourage UK workers and the unemployed to consider roles in food production and to re-train or re-skill. The Union Learning Fund—for which Government funding will cease in 2021— has been brought up as an example of how this could be achieved. As data for the food and drink manufacturing sector demonstrates, businesses were able to source almost all their workers domestically prior to the eastern expansion of the EU in
From: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Third Report - The UK’s new immigration policy and the food supply chain (HC 231), 22 December 2020
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 14 May 2021 (deadline 22 February 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government says it agrees with the Committee on carefully monitoring the effect of the new immigration system on food supply chain labour, and sets out policy developments and continued work in response.
- On food prices, it says establishing "a credible link between the price of food and labour supply is not always possible", but Defra is "committed to working throughout 2021" to scrutinise relevant labour supply data.
- On fees, it states the current UK visa fee schedule "offers good value", and that the Home Office keeps fees under review. It notes the Home Office announced its final decision on the Shortage Occupation List recommendations on 4 March.
- On seasonal workers, it says the 2021 Seasonal Workers Pilot, with 30,000 visas, will operate in support of the edible horticulture sector only, with two additional pilot operators being established.
- On automation, it commits to Defra leading a review into automation in horticulture this year, with further details "published in the Spring".