The Countryside Alliance has written to Home Secretary Sajid Javid to warn that proposals for the UK's immigration policy outside the EU create a “real risk” of labour shortages in the rural economy.
The warning was issued in response to the government’s White Paper on immigration which was published at the end of the last year.
A 12-month period of consultation between the Home Office and interested groups has now commenced.
The White Paper is focused on high skilled migration, but the Countryside Alliance has highlighted the need in rural areas for low skilled workers, particularly at important times of the year.
It sets out a route for short-term low skilled workers but will be subject to “tightly defined conditions”. The government will also set “restrictions on nationalities, duration and possibly numbers.”
This route is also only intended to be a transitional measure to enable employers to “change their ways of working”, but the Countryside Alliance has stressed that for many rural businesses, reliance upon low skilled workers cannot be avoided.
Seasonal scheme
The rural organisation has called for the reintroduction of a seasonal agricultural workers scheme, or equivalent scheme, to allow farmers and rural businesses to access labour from abroad after the UK leaves the EU.
The government has announced plans for a pilot scheme, to commence in April this year, but this will only allow 2,500 workers to enter the UK from outside the EU.
The UK requires approximately 80,000 seasonal agricultural workers every year and the Office for National Statistics has stated that 99 per cent of these workers come from countries within the EU.
Countryside Alliance's James Somerville-Meikle said rural areas 'must not be overlooked' in this process.
“The proposals set out in the White Paper make it even more important that the government introduces a seasonal agricultural workers scheme,” he said.
“There is no certainty about access to the EU labour market for low skill workers and the government must recognise the particular needs of farming and rural employers to ensure that a living a working countryside can be sustained outside the EU. The government must make sure its proposals are rural proofed.”
