Conclusion 9

While we commend Defra for standing up the Pick for Britain scheme so quickly and for promoting it successfully, this cannot hide the fact that it did not achieve what it hoped to do: attract a significant number of British works to pick crops. Given the favourable conditions in which it operated this year, i.e. the pandemic causing significant slack in the labour market coupled with significant media coverage of the need for seasonal labour, it is clear that structural changes are required if seasonal jobs are to appeal to UK workers. While the flexibilities under Universal Credit highlight the support that the Government can give through bringing forward targeted policies, the onus is on businesses to improve the pay and conditions they offer. These changes cannot be achieved overnight, especially when the industry is also facing significant uncertainties caused by the pandemic and the end of the transition period. But more fundamentally, the UK has required migrant seasonal workers since the end of the Second World War, highlighting that UK workers are not attracted to such work—it is simply not realistic to expect UK workers to return to harvesting roles in significant numbers in the short to medium-term, if ever. If there is insufficient seasonal labour, there is a danger that some agricultural companies and others in the food supply chain that rely on it may relocate abroad.