Pilot worker scheme will have 'little effect' on current shortages UK farms

UK horticulture employs 60,000 seasonal staff from the EU annually
UK horticulture employs 60,000 seasonal staff from the EU annually

The government's new pilot scheme to attract non-EU farm workers after Brexit has been criticised by farmers and growers for not going far enough to plug the labour drain opened by Brexit.

Announced on Thursday (6 September), the scheme will be capped at just 2,500 non-EU workers a year as part of a two-year trial.

The pilot, introduced by Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Defra Secretary Michael Gove, will mean the UK's fruit and vegetable farms are able to employ migrant workers amid a severe shortage.

While welcomed as a step in the right direction, farm groups and associations have said the '2,500' figure will have "little effect" on the current shortages UK farms are facing.

UK horticulture employs 60,000 seasonal staff from the EU annually, with berries alone accounting for 29,000 workers.

Nick Marston, Chairman of British Summer Fruits said: “Our farms are reporting staff shortages of 10-20% already, and to have any effect in terms of supporting our successful industry, around 10,000 are needed now – not 2,500.

“The proposal represents a 4% increase in a shrinking workforce, the UK berry industry grows by at least 8% per annum and this will not sustain a standstill, let alone growth.”

'Simply not enough'

The last UK seasonal agricultural workers scheme (SAWS), discontinued after 2013, allowed 21,250 workers to enter the UK from Romania and Bulgaria prior to their accession to the EU.

British farms then had unfettered access to workers to the “EU 8”, yet still needed over 21,000 extra staff a year, according to Mr Marston.

“A non-EU SAWS scheme from now and in to the future will need to provide numbers of over 20,000 workers,” he said.

Ali Capper, chair of the NFU’s horticultural and potatoes board, described news of the pilot scheme as a “fantastic” start, but admitted it was "simply not enough".

“We need more than 11,500 seasonal workers by 2021 to keep pace with a crop that is set to grow. Right now, the pilot permits us to recruit 2,500,” she said.

“This is simply not enough and our growers are already struggling to recruit workers."

The pilot will commence in the spring of 2019, will run until the end of December 2020 and will be monitored by the Home Office and Defra.