BRITAIN’S FOOD supply chain may not be able to secure sufficient labour for summer 2021 under the Government’s new immigration policy.
The cross-party EFRA Committee of Westminster MPs has this week accused the UK Government of taking a ‘last-minute approach’ to finalising the details of its Seasonal Worker Pilot scheme for overseas seasonal workers, such that the system may not be up and running in time to do any good.
The EFRA committee was particularly annoyed that the Government only just announced the final two of four operators for the pilot scheme on May 5, despite harvest season already approaching in some agricultural sectors and regions.
In its statement, the committee also expressed concerned about recent evidence of shortages of Official Veterinarians working in abattoirs, noting that over 9 in 10 of these key workers were European Economic Area-qualified.
Committee chair Neil Parish MP said: “It is now May, with peak harvesting season almost upon us, and yet the Government has only just appointed the final two operators for the Seasonal Workers…
