01/03/2018 House of Commons

Office not only responding but also

producing the lessons learnt report,

to show that Parliament can be

involved in these voting processes.

Point of order Jonathan Ashworth.

I

am grateful, Madam Deputy Speaker.

I'm sure you have seen the news that

a trust in Gloucester has announced

it is setting up a wholly-owned

subsidiary, where hospital trusts

essentially set up a private company

and transfer NHS staff and indeed

assets into that company. Dozens of

hospitals are doing this, or are

looking at doing this, because of

the underfunding of the NHS. It will

create a workforce with thousands of

jobs that could be transferred, and

essentially it is a back door

privatisation. As the Secretary for

health given new evidence Mike

Riddle any notice -- given any

evidence that the funding of the NHS

is the funding of a public health

service which is being undermined in

this way?

I thank the honourable

gentleman for his point of order. I

haven't received any notification

that the Secretary of State intends

to make a statement on this issue.

But I am sure the Treasury bench

will have heard the concern, and the

honourable gentleman well, I'm sure,

continue to pursue this through the

roots that he is well aware of in

this house. Thank you. We now come

to the backbench motion on seasonal

migrant workers.

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I

beg to move that this house has

considered the introduction of a

seasonal agricultural migrant

scheme. I would like to thank the

backbench business committee for

accepting this application for such

an important debate on the Right

honourable and honourable members

who have supported this application,

and those in the British

agricultural community who have

campaigned relentlessly on this

issue and the work of the APPG, that

they have carried out. Of which I am

the vice-chair. £1.2 billion was the

value... I will give way, yes.

I

thank the honourable member for

giving way, is she not a bit

surprised, the word agriculture is

in the title, but this is not being

responded to by Defra but we have a

Home Office minister responding.

Shouldn't Defra put forward their

position on this crucial issue?

I do

believe that we have the right

minister on the front, that is what

I am fighting. With the sector grew

131% over the last two decades,

these figures are proof of all of

the skill, talent and industrious

nature of the British farmer. My own

constituency of Angus reveals the

true scale of production that is now

possible. Despite being less than 3%

of the country, we certainly pull

our weight. We produce over 30% of

Scotland's soft fruits. The noble

strawberry is symbolic of Angus and

a wonderful experience for any of my

constituents to be able to buy a

planet on their doorstep which has

grown in the surrounding

countryside. Given the sizeable

industry, within the first two

months of being elected, I

personally toured all of the major

advance in Angus. I was greeted with

a product with a taste and a flavour

that anyone would envy. However I

was also confronted with something

else... A struggling sector.

Automation and modernisation at the

centre of the British farming

sector, as they should be with

anyone who wishes to thrive. There

are certain aspects of getting a

crop from the fields to the

supermarket shelf which requires a

human touch and the always rely, to

a degree, and manual labour. At this

time committee picking and

harvesting of soft crops can only be

done effectively by hand. The

picking of crops requires

efficiency, injuries and is

deceptive level of knowledge. It

isn't a simple task. The whole

production is not down to unskilled

labour -- endurance. It is learned

three years of working on farms.

Without question, it is tough work.

I remember as a child in a free

picking was sold to me as a fun day

out. As soon as the sick feeling

overcame me from eating too many

raspberries, the feeling wore off!

The honourable lady has given way, I

was brought up in Angus in the

honourable member's constituency and

we spent at least half of our summer

holidays picking strawberries and

raspberries, and in October, we

would have the potato holidays,

picking the potato crop. That is how

we grew up and learned to work. I

congratulate the honourable member

on the case that she is making, that

this is actually a skill set that is

developed. Sometimes it is even

genetically passed through

generations but it is something that

we should be protecting. She makes a

convincing case but she also believe

that there is scope for investment

in technology, and automation, in

the area?

I thank the member for his

intervention. With regards to the

point around automation, it is

incredibly important that we look

into it but I do not see fully how

the soft fruit sector could adapt to

full automation and there will

always be a degree of manual labour.

Presently, around 80,000 men and

women make the journey across to the

United Kingdom to take part in this

process. By 2019 it is estimated the

figure will rise to 95,000, due to

the expansion of many farms as well

as an elongated season due to

innovative farming techniques that

we see. Mini mistake, this is

seasonal work, there is no need for

because all year round. -- make no

mistake. They are required during

the harvest itself. Precision is

key. There can be no delays in

farming. Being too early or too late

can have a catastrophic effect on

the quality and subsequent price. I

will give way.

I thank her for

giving way. She just mentioned this

season and duration of it. I wonder

what she thinks the duration is. It

has been put to me that roughly the

season, because of poly tunnels, can

be as much as nine months.

I thank

the member for his intervention. I

would agree. And if US's recent

report entitled Change suggests up

to ten months but I would say my

having ten months would cover the

harvest of soft fruit and other

sectors as well. I will give way.

There are some other sectors where

it is more difficult to have such an

extended season like the new

vineyards that we have in the

south-east of England and in south

Wales. It is a very short season and

you actually have to make very quick

decisions about when the right day

is to start picking and if you are

to get the best product out of the

grape. Does she accept that we are

going to have to have some wrapper

system as a matter of urgency, if we

are not going to see all of those

grapes, and soft fruit, go to waste?

In the last few years the

recruitment of these 80,000 seasonal

agricultural workers has become

increasingly difficult. It's not a

problem unique to the UK and has

been encountered across Europe. In

the past Britain's seasonal workers

typically came from Eastern Europe.

- employment and lower living

standards in these regions meant the

possibility of work in Britain was

appealing. According to data

produced by the World Bank in the

year 2000 and employment in Rabin

you, the Gideon: still at 7%, 6.2%

and 16 point 2% respectively. In

2017 it was 5.1%. All members

present will agree the prosperity

enjoyed by the states should be

applauded and this testimony to

their own economic endeavours. But

the impact the success has had on

British farming along with other

factors including the weakened pound

and the desire for a more permanent

role is why we are here today.

Without sufficient farmers crops are

left to rot in the field. A scene

which was witnessed last year. Some

farmers for the first time had to

watch their wonderful premium

produce waste away in the fields as

the workforce had dispersed. A

recent survey by NFU S horticulture

and potato members between January

and February this year had some

startling outcomes which I hope will

convey the seriousness of the

consideration. 100% of those who

were contacted said they were

concerned or very concerned about

the impact labour shortages would

have on their businesses in 2018 and

beyond. 46% said there was

difficulty in harvesting the 2017

crop. 65% responded by saying

implying non-EU workers was more

difficult. I will give way.

As she

heard from growers in might instead

UNC the particular worry is the

decline in the number of returning

workers. The returning workforce is

important. They are used to having

the same workers coming back year

after year who already have the

skills and knowledge to be effective

workers. There is a decline and that

is a particular worry.

I absolutely

agree. Workers come back for eight,

910 years and we are seeing a

decline in that particular area. We

are losing that skill in British

farms. The most alarming thing is

that if the figures don't stack up

there is little choice, to how

difficult it is. 50% of respondents

said they were very likely to

downsize their business. 42% said

they would cease collectivity. But

if summer fruits which collectively

represent 90% of growers in the

sector is carried out similar survey

in 2016 which had results which

reflected that. However the survey

which is more recent is certainly

more startling. I will give way.

I

was contacted a few months after the

referendum by a farmer in my

constituency who said the farm

manager who had been working

seasonally for him, a Polish

gentleman, since Poland had joined

the EU and a lot of skilled workers

had never problems on the board

until weeks after the referendum

when all of them were asked about

who they were and why they were

coming into the UK. That is not

helping people want to come here to

work on farms.

I don't think his

story resonates with any of my

farmers in my constituency. I do

believe this is an issue that has

been going on for a number of years

prior to the referendum in 2016 and

any farmer would agree with that.

Action has to be taken or we will

watch the demise of an industry, an

industry so inherently British.

These migrant workers enjoy coming

to the UK and that's why so many

farmers have loyalty from them. They

are rewarded with a healthy wage.

Some pickers earn up to £12 an hour.

Well above the minimum wage. With

regard to a solution there is only

one choice in my view. The

introduction of a system which

prevents individuals from European

and non-European states to come to

the UK specifically to carry out the

seasonal work. This is not Labour

that can be undertaken by the

existing British workforce. We do

not have the numbers in the year

which require them. Early starts and

intense work is the norm. This is

skilled work. While one can pick the

fruit to achieve the rate that is

necessary requires stamina and

skill. Putting it simply, it's hard

graft. Without question if the job

is available British person should

be able to have the chance to

compete on a roll. I am reminded one

example which this point. There is a

producer who has on two instances

attempted fine seasonal staff and on

the first occasion the worker worked

with the job centre and there was a

high volume of local applicants and

the producer went on to higher 90

workers. Within three weeks only ten

members of staff remained. In 2017

the same producer offered 12 jobs,

ten employees started and only two

remain. The job is simply an

attractive to the domestic

workforce. In July last year the

member for Tiverton held a debate on

this topic and he stressed the need

for the introduction of a seasonal

migrant scheme. The need for the

scheme has only grown with time. As

has the support for it. I am so

grateful for the encouragement and

backing from the entire chamber with

your representatives urging the

government to act. This is an issue

I have strongly supported since

coming into office and when I know

will require the input of the

farming community. Following

constant lobbying from farmers I

have taken the case to the Secretary

of State for environment and rural

affairs and the Home Secretary and

the Prime Minister herself. I have

pressed our argument at every level.

Every time I have delivered my case

it has been recognised and I will

continue to push for swift action. I

will give way.

Would she agree that

this is a is an important issue of

course but there are many other

industries that would like the

government to look at the

immigration status of their workers.

The government should be doing a

very extensive piece of work and

what the immigration system should

look like post-Brexit.

Obviously

there is a lot of work going on

through the NEC and that will be

produced in the autumn. I agree it's

not just the agricultural sector but

hospitality and many other sectors

which are worried. I was delighted

when the honourable member

facilities except within invite to

this last month where we toured the

largest fruit from inmates

constituency. During the meeting

repeated questions on the subject I

was finally promised that a clear as

it would be given. It was not in the

time frame I have requested nor in

which the farming community

requires. They need clarity --

clarity and they needed urgently.

Why do we need this urgently?

Harvest 2018. It's imperative we act

now. Our farmers cannot plan or

ensure the claps they know will be

harvested. This is an industry in

turmoil. The migrant advisory

committee is preparing a report

which will be published in the

autumn. I contributed to this report

following consultation with the

farmers in my constituency.

Stressing the situation in Angus and

uncertain members present today also

added the voices of their own

constituents. While we do not know

the findings of this developing

report the NEC has been vocal about

the necessity of retaining seasonal

workers in the past. The committee

acknowledged the likely events that

would take place and growers were in

general agreement that at least the

short-term they will find the

required supply of seasonal labour

from Bulgaria remain you. However

based on the experience following

the EU accession of European

countries in 2004 growers expressed

concerns they would find it ethical

to recruit workers from Bulgaria and

Rumania who will likely seek

employment in other sectors.

Farmers were concerned that without

the scheme workers would be less

flexible and reliable. The

introduction of a new scheme similar

to that which was abandoned is the

only option. It's imperative we

create a system that makes the

process of coming to work in the UK

are simple and attractive as

possible. So migrant workers have

the ability to start of dressing

potatoes and finish in a tunnel. We

need a system which enables them to

work wherever the man this.

Countless countries across Europe

are having to turn to alternative

means to secure new Labour sources.

Spain is dependent on Labour from

the north of Africa. Italy has

recruited largely missed from

Bangladesh. We are competing

directly with these countries and if

we don't ensure British farms say

the most appealing prospect foreign

workers will go elsewhere. As I

close my opening remarks please

allow me to say again how much I

appreciate all your presence here

today. There is a need for us to the

-- make progress during this debate.

Since 2013 there have been calls for

a seasonal agricultural workers

scheme and with every year that has

passed the situation has become more

strained. It's an area where we have

seen tremendous success in recent

years. Our standing internationally

is impeccable. I am proud of the

produce we grow across Angus and our

UK. I want to ensure our high

quality product will dominate the

shop shelves. We must safeguard this

industry and I hope this debate will

help guarantee this protection.

The

question is as on the order paper.

I

am delighted to make a very short

contribution. I just want to make a

couple of observations. In terms of

why I did not intervene and she made

a very valuable case and I entirely

agree with her. I don't know why

this hasn't yet happened. We have

had debates both in November of 2016

and on the back of the select

committee report in July last year

saying categorically there was a

need for the scheme to be

reintroduced in some form. We know

last year somewhere between ten and

15% of the fruit vegetables that was

ploughed back into the crowd because

of the lack of available labour.

There are reasons why some Labour

may not want to come which is also

to do with the change in the value

of the pound. But they didn't come

because there was little

encouragement for them to come. This

scheme is all about trying to make

sure there is sufficient labour from

abroad who have come traditionally,

this is not recent, it has happened

for decades, but it been more

important recently because we

haven't got enough of our own

domestic labour. People talk about

technology has been one of the

answers but unfortunately technology

can't yet pick strawberries. Not

without bruising them. So my first

point is I don't understand why it's

taken so long. Either DEFRA have not

made strong enough representations.

When it comes to delivery on a

fairly basic part of the DEFRA

responsibility, well we haven't seen

any real action. This is a pretty

important issue for the farming

community. I know that because I

have lobbied regularly by the NFU

and other parts of the farming

industry to be told this is maybe

not their top concern that it's one

of their major concerns.

The first point is why has it not

happened? Is it that the Secretary

of State hasn't been able to make

efficient representation or is it at

the moment the Home Office seems to

want to block any attempt to allow

people in to this country to get the

numbers down, even when they are

desperately needed, as they are in

this sector. As the honourable lady

said very well. My second point is,

and my concluding point, is that we

need to recognise that the whole of

the rural community feels that they

are not being listened to when it

comes to an issue such as this.

Given the way in which they have

tried to make this representation is

over time and in a detailed and

comprehensive and thoughtful manner.

She quoted all of the figures, I

will not in any way try to

reproduce. But my understanding here

is that unless we get those numbers,

then businesses will go out of

business. Fruit and vegetables will

not be picked and indeed, it is

unjust, dare I say, that part of the

agricultural industry. The dairy

industry has regularly employed

people who need to come from abroad

because of the nature of the

experiences that they get, the

English they will learn, and indeed

the way in which we have looked

after them generation early. Again

there is a second underlying point

about this, rural versus the

European economy. I make no bones in

representing the rural community in

this constituency. I still think

that it is important that we get

that point of view across. It is

only two important that we make sure

our industry, the farming industry,

is able to have a very strong voice

which means we get action. Between

Defra being unable to deliver this

and the Royal community feeling

isolated and unable to deliver on

one of its key demands, we need

assurance from the Home Office today

that they will move this forward --

rural community. It is too late this

year. There I say it, the harvest is

well underway in the sense that it

has been planted and maybe we can

believe that somebody somewhere is

going to pick their spurt I am not

being funny, who is going to want to

change the whole of their life

experience by suddenly thinking,

come May, June, July, I will go to

Britain! People make plans. They

make plans months months in advance

and yet all they have been given is

no assurance whatsoever that there

is a scheme they can get a Visa for,

no experience whatsoever that they

are being, dare I say, welcomed in

this country because there is an

underlying view now that they are

either not needed or, if they are

needed, they are needed in much

lesser numbers than they used to be.

I do ask the Home Office, please can

we have a scheme back in place?

Hopefully it is a scheme that will

do what the old scheme used to do,

which was very efficient. I do not

know where was removed. It was not

while I was in this house. I was not

part of any decision but we are now

seeing that, dare I say, there are

catastrophic consequences. Surely it

is a tragedy, when food is wasted

because you cannot pick it? So we

need an answer today. We need a

scheme, if not for this year, we

certainly need one for next year.

Maybe people will reconsider what

they are going to do and still come

to this country. But, I do pre-that

the Home Office, with death

-- with Defra, can get their act

together and get the scheme in

place. It is desperately needed.

Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker, it

is a pleasure to follow the

honourable member for Stroud and I

would like to congratulate the

honourable member finders for

securing the debate and putting the

case for farmers in Angus forward so

passionately. In my constituency of

Chichester we are home to a fresh

food industry that has an annual

turnover in excess of £1 billion.

And 9000 full-time employees. This

industry has thrived for several

reasons. Not least because

apparently we are the brightest part

of the UK. With our sunny climate

and coastal proximity, which

magnifies brightness by up to 10%.

It makes Chichester a great place to

grow fruit and vegetables. The

growers in my area can only continue

to grow, in every sense of the word,

if they have the workforce to

harvest their crops. According to

the chairman of the West Sussex

growers Association, the impact of

Brexit or the EU referendum are

already having an effect. Investment

locally has been held back by many

growers, as they await the outcome

of the negotiations. I'm aware that

some of their costs of raw materials

have increased by up to 20%, due to

the falling value of the pound on

the international market. On the

flip side, our currency devaluation

has made home-grown crops more

competitive, so for some sales are

up. Seasonal migrant labour within

the growing industry has been part

of its history since the post-war

period. The work they do is often

physically exerting, repetitive, but

skilled. I can personally attest to

this as I have had the opportunity

to pick peppers, where they supply

50% of all UK peppers that are sold

in supermarkets nationwide. Many

growers are struggling to maintain

levels of Labour needed. The NFU

industry survey identified a

shortage of 13% across the 20 17th

season, peaking in September at 29%.

One fifth of businesses said last

year had been the hardest

recruitment year compared to a

previous years. Furthermore, growers

in my area claim that recruiting

more skilled employees, who are

fluent in English, has recently been

much harder. They have attributed

this to the lower value of the

pound, meaning seasonal workers can

earn just as much, or more, in other

European countries. And we are

competing for that talent. As a

consequence, 73% of UK industry

employers are taking steps to

encourage seasonal recruitment with

wages are up by 9% in 2017 over the

previous year. The rural industries

have generally made efficiencies and

increase productivity by using

advanced robotics to move rows and

rows of hops through giant glass

houses to packaging. As an industry,

the utilisation of technology is

key. Growers and farmers in my area

have invested heavily but there are

still points where people are

needed, most commonly during the

picking stage. In Chichester, the

industry is keen to upscale and

train their employees and they have

begun to impairment training schemes

like the apprentice ship level. In

the coming weeks, several growers

are meeting with colleges to see how

they can collaborate on

apprenticeship schemes using the

levy and home-grown resources. On my

visit to Tangmere, I met a former

worker from Poland who now runs the

whole of the operation. Like in any

industry, hard work and talent is

with promotion. For example, Paul

Hunter, a local producer of soft

fruits in my constituency, has an

entire management team from

Bulgaria. Since the referendum,

immigration control has been

discussed by people in the industry

at length. Due to the short-term

nature and skill level of the

majority of the work, we need to

create a migration tool to ensure

our rural industries are able to

attract and recruit the people that

they need. Many, including the NFU,

are calling for the reintroduction

of the scheme which could be an

appropriate mechanism to ensure

security for the sector while

maintaining control of our

immigration system. Whatever system

we put in place, it must facilitate

seasonal workers to come to this

country to fear filled the needs of

the sector. The system needs to be

as frictionless as possible and

allow for a mate application, high

levels of automation and ensure

there are few barriers as possible

to much-needed Labour. Flexibility

is required to take into account

crops with longer harvest seasons,

or for skilled workers, those who

are offered career progression.

Whilst the rural industries are

concerned about workers as we leave

the EU, they also see opportunities

as a consequence. Many are hopeful

about access to international

markets, where we can sell quality

produce. Others feel there may be

opportunities to expand our market

share domestically, as some crops

are and are grown in the UK, like

tomatoes, of which a massive 80% are

imported. That is despite having

perfect growing conditions in

Chichester. Moving forward we must

do what we can to ensure we have a

suitable mechanism in place to

support the growing industry. And

when they have the right workforce

but they need, when they are needed.

If we get this right I'm confident

the industry will continue to thrive

in my constituency and across the

UK.

Thank you. Kerry McCarthy.

Thank

you, I would like to thank the

backbench committee for agreeing on

this important debate and the

Honourable member, I thought she

made an excellent speech, it could

not have come at a more critical

time for British farmers, despite

the weather outside the summer

season and the harvest season will

be upon us before we know it. I'm

glad to have been able to co-sponsor

the application as another vice

chair of the APPG for fruit and

vegetable farmers. We have heard how

important migrant labour is to the

farming sector and that is true all

year round. Not just for seasonal

work but it is true across the

supply chain. Not only in picking

but in packaging and processing,

through to the retail and

hospitality sectors. Not only low

skill jobs but highly skilled jobs.

Food scientists, for example, and

vets, I will mention them again

later. It is important to state that

seasonal workers, migrant workers,

they have made a huge contribution

to the British economy. The rhetoric

around the Brexit campaign about

being a drain on local resources was

not matched out by the figures. They

have a lower than average use of the

NHS and they put money into the

local economy. As we are hearing

today, they will be much missed on

these shores. The debate today is

about seasonal migrant labour, which

is where the most pressing problem

is. This is not just a far-off

problem that we need to deal with in

the distant post Brexit period

future. The reality is the shortage

in seasonal workers is happening

now. There are alarming reports that

food is rotting in British farms as

there is no one available to harvest

it. In total, last year something

like 4300 jobs were left unfilled. A

farm in Scotland had to leave up to

100 tonnes of blueberries at the

cost of half £1 million. Another

farm in Kent could not find workers

to pick 2000 tonnes of raspberries

which cost than £700,000. This is

because whilst demand for British

fruit and vegetables have risen

dramatically, demand for

strawberries has grown by 107% rule.

The ability to source migrant

workers has fallen. In September

there was a 27% shortage identified.

We had at a recent meeting of the

APPG for fruit farmers, the farming

Minister attended it. We have from a

farm in Kent, I think it was the

same one, who said he lost £700,000.

He was already incurring significant

losses due to a shortage of labour

and he was talking about moving a

substantial part of his business to

Spain. Clearly that is something we

don't want to see happen. Aside the

obvious problem with food waste,

these could jeopardise their thin

profit margins of farmers, putting

their entire business is at risk.

There is a risk of cutting the

ongoing supply of quality British

food, getting to supermarkets. As

well as tarnishing the British brand

abroad before even getting our own

food out of the ground. The truth

is, as we've heard, it is becoming

far more difficult to attract

workers. In recent years agriculture

has become heavily reliant on

workers from Eastern Europe,

particularly some EU countries.

Migrants make up about 20% of

regular full-time staff in the

agriculture sector, a vast majority

from Romania and Bulgaria. Recorded

estimates show that 90-90% of

seasonal agricultural workers from

other EU countries but as people

from these countries have the right

work and set up in the EU, they are

not looking for seasonal work but

permanent and better paid jobs in

towns and cities rather than rural

areas. Places where they can bring

their families with them that have

better schools and local

opportunities for family members to

get jobs. Places where they can make

a life. We saw this with Polish

workers. We've heard from farmers

how, whereas if you go back a few

years, perhaps 90% of their labour

force would be from Poland. That has

very much disappeared and is being

replaced by newer countries, the

Romanians and Bulgarians but now

they are following the Polish

workers into permanent jobs in towns

and cities.

It is expensive and have provided

over the union has done excellent

work highlighting some of those

concerns in its From Plato To Plate

report. We can about the role of

gang masters, even human trafficking

in the agricultural sector in this

country. The Labour shortage is

real, and immediate threat. While

not being alarmist, I don't think

other members raising these concerns

are being alarmist either. The

government urgently needs to address

this. This was recognised by the

environment rural and food affairs

select committee. Last week, did an

inquiry into Labour restraints, and

published a report and took evidence

from Home Office Minister and a

letter minister as well. We

concluded that we do not share, this

is a quote, we do not share the

confidence of the government that

the sector does not have a problem.

That was the evidence we had. We

felt there was a huge degree of

complacency coming from ministers

that it would all be fine and we

didn't need any urgent response. The

report says, we do not share the

confidence of the government that

the sector doesn't have a problem.

On the contrary evidence admitted to

this inquiry suggests the current

problem is in danger of becoming a

crisis of urgent measures are not

taken. We also had real concerns

about the lack of empirical evidence

that the government was basing its

decisions on, and the statistics

were very flawed that they were

using. We sent in another

recommendation, we are concerned

that the industry has such different

experiences to those reported by the

government. In other words the

government was not listening to

experiences directly from people

working and running businesses in

the sector. To carry on the quote,

it is apparent that statistics used

by the government are not able to

provide a proper indication of

agriculture's Labour needs. These

statistics and the utility pump

monitoring supply of and demand the

seasonal Labour must be renewed by

the end of 2017 to give the sector

confidence in the adequacy of the

official data on which employment

policies will be based after the UK

leaves the EU. To say that the

government response in October last

year was weak is an understatement.

It shows shocking complacency. It

rejected the hard facts and data

presented to the committee by the

sector and failed to acknowledge

that its own statistics were not fit

for purpose in terms of seasonal

Labour in specific sectors. The

strong feeling I have had in these

discussions both and McInnes select

committee was that the ideological

fervour Brexit among certain

ministers and with that unbending

support for curbs on freedom of

movement have overridden any

common-sense approach to the

problem, the response was very much

we voted to stop freedom of

movement, that is our approach, no

matter what evidence we have that

this will harm the British economy.

I have heard that the tourism

minister, the then tourism minister,

now in the Treasury, the honourable

member for Salisbury, took a

different approach when in the

Department of culture, media and

sport, and went in to bat for the

tourism sector, saying hospitality

absolutely needs flexibility to

bring migrant workers over. That

approach was not replicated by the

farming minister. I think it's one

reason why we are where we are now.

It was welcome that the Environment

Secretary made positive noises about

introducing or reintroducing

seasonal agricultural workers scheme

in his recent speech to the NFU.

This scheme was scrapped in 2013

because the evidence was that we

didn't need it because we have these

workers from accession countries

like the Romanians and the

Bulgarians. But as I have said, that

is no longer the case. And it is

worrying that we are only now just

starting to talk about the

possibility of reintroducing these

when it will be far too late to get

such a scheme in place the harvest

this year. Yet I am not convinced

that reintroducing seasonal

agricultural workers scheme would

solve the problem. Many people who

would previously have done this work

don't want to do it. They don't need

to do it any more, the exchange

rate, the uncertainty following the

referendum, the feeling unwelcome,

even the British weather means that

working elsewhere in the EU is more

attractive. The economic situation

in the own countries has improved to

the extent that perhaps they don't

need to come here and certainly the

poor exchange rate means the

financial benefits of doing so and

much less, being able to take any

home, run the gap between what they

would pay here and in their own

countries is not suitable. Even in

countries like Poland, we have heard

that they can't get work as other,

they are looking to Ukraine to do

their own agricultural work. -- they

can't get workers either. I just

don't see how far we can carry this

chase after cheaper Labour, looking

ever further afield. Ager or two ago

I was on a flight of Stansted to

Moldova, full of Romanian workers

clearly hopping on budget flights to

work here and go back home at the

weekend. Looking further afield,

easyJet is not going to bring in

workers from Vietnam or Cambodia the

£30 a time. The giveaway.

I wonder

if she is aware that someone who is

now a Cabinet minister suggested

that the farmers should start

preparing to bring in people from

Sri Lanka. I don't know if that

Minister agreed to pay their

flights.

That's the case, to what

extent do we keep chasing this? As

other countries become more

affluent, why would they come here

instead of coming to other countries

where they could earn more?

No,

clearly she has studied these

matters closely. The source scheme

brought in people from all kinds of

places, from Africa and Asia and so

forth. When the scheme ended that

opportunity for those people ended

as well, does she welcome mat?

I

think we will have to look further

afield. And just casting doubts on

whether that would be enough to

attract workers, even in some of the

countries we previously recruited

from, in Kenya, British companies,

we would be able to attract workers

to come to Britain for the British

summer. When this production in the

own backyard. For all the talk of

stepping up recruitment of British

workers, something the government

focused on heavily in its response

to the EFFRA report, talking about

the role of agriculture in

universities, I think it's important

that we encourage more people to go

into agriculture going to the food

sector but these are not the type of

jobs were talking about at the

moment. And the problem with

attracting British workers is that

the areas with unemployment don't

tend to be closer to areas that need

these workers. Students are

mentioned but they have other

options and as the Honourable member

said, this is tough work. We are not

just talking about fruit picking,

even if the sun is shining, we are

talking about picking Brussels

sprouts in the freezing cold, it is

not something people do because they

fancy making a bit of pocket money.

The sector will also have difficulty

in accessing skilled Labour won

freedom of movement ends in areas

filled by EU workers, 90% of

abattoir that's come from EU

countries and most have arrived in

the last five years so they are not

automatically covered by the right

to stay here. The process is

complicated, expensive and slow.

There is no environment Minister

here today but I would like to know

and perhaps the Home Office minister

can tell us to what extent the

Environment Secretary has made a

submission to the immigration

advisory committee on the future

needs of the sector as well as

pushing the source. At board level

the border secretary sees the

solution lying in a move from, and I

quote, more capital intensive

approach. Robotic fruit harvesting

is said to be five years away, that

means five years of times going

under. Even over those five years

and will only be the largest and

most profitable business that can

afford to buy into those

technologies. In areas until the

automation is not possible,

asparagus has to be picked

individually, raspberries to

delegate not to be picked by hand.

To conclude, Madam Deputy Speaker,

this is part of a broader concern

and I would have liked the

Environment Secretary to have come

before the House this week when the

agriculture command paper was

published. I welcome most of... I've

just put up a statement welcoming

much of what is in that command

paper and the whole concept of

moving into public money for public

goods. I hope he will consider

strong case made by people in the

sector for making sector more

environmentally friendly, but we

also need to look at the economic

viability of the sector, and Labour

is crucial to that. So we need

answers from the Home Office. And we

need a much stronger focus from the

DEFRA team, not here today, and what

they will do to address this crisis.

Thank you, DEFRA. I congratulate my

honourable friend, the Member for

Angus for securing this important

debate and giving us the opportunity

to have this important and urgent

conversation in the chamber. I thank

her for all the work she is doing to

campaign for seasonal workers. It is

a pleasure to campaign with her on

this. With fields in Mike Kent

constituency currently blanketed in

snow, as I'm sure is the case for

pretty much all of us, the pleasures

of summer strawberries and what

foods seem far off. But that's not

the case for our fruit and vegetable

growers. They are already very

worried that they won't have enough

workers to harvest the crop this

year. The NFU has been gathering

extensive data on this growing

problem of the workforce shortage.

And for example in May last year

there was a national shortage of

9000 workers, late in the year 60%

of Apple and pear growers said they

were short of Labour for the

harvest. We know that last it was

difficult. This year will be harder

and as for further into the future,

farmers are very worried. This

uncertainty has consequences. It

takes between three and six years to

grow a productive fruit tree. We

know that farmers are putting off

investment decisions because of

their fears of future access to

Labour. 31% of top food growers say

the uncertainty about stuff has made

them change their investment plans.

So some are reducing investment,

some are scaling down their

businesses, some say they will chop

down and scrub up their orchards.

And this is particularly sad in

worrying in the context of the last

couple of decades which have been a

great British success story for

fruit and vegetable growing, this

has been a great area of growth for

our economy, for example home-grown

berry production has increased by

over 100% in the last 30 years and

strawberries have gone from being a

luxury which a family might

occasionally I for special events to

being something which is now a

common part of a family's weekly

shop in the summer. And frequently

British berries are being bought.

The UK production of fruit and

vegetables is a great success story

and a growing industry that we

should be supporting. But, unless we

fix this Labour shortage, prices

will go up. Fewer people will be

able to afford British fruit and

vegetables. That growth may well

reverse, and we will see a share of

the fruit and vegetables that we

currently consume, British produce,

replaced by imports. And as the

honourable member for Bristol East

said moments ago, a farmer in my

constituency is not alone amongst

many in shifting production overseas

because of the shortage of workers

here. Madam Deputy Speaker, Labour

shortages are not just a problem in

Britain, as other members have said

this afternoon, the whole of the

European Union is struggling to

recruit their workforce for picking

fruit and vegetables. Germany,

Holland, Spain, Portugal and Poland

already have permit schemes that

enable them to recruit workers from

beyond the EU.

In the UK if we were to introduce

our own seasonal workers scheme that

allows our growers to compete on a

level playing field with their

foreign competitors. Now, I

appreciate, I have had it said to me

many times since I have been a

member of Parliament for a Kent

constituency will be grey lot of

fruit, that this is a common topic

of conversation. I have often heard

people say, why can't British people

do the work? In the past we had a

lot of people coming out of London

to pick fruit in the holidays. I

have constituency tell me they first

came to Kent from the East End of

London to pick fruit when they were

children, along with the hops or the

students in the workforce for doing

this. I have spoken to growers in my

constituency about this. They too

would like to recruit British

workers, local workers, to pick and

pack for fruit and they have tried

to do so and they have advertised

locally. Some of them have sometimes

managed to recruit locally but the

local workforce does not supply the

labour that they need. Part of the

problem, this is a good thing, is

that we have very low unemployment.

In my constituency there are about

700 people currently claiming

jobseeker's allowance but in the

season, farmers in my constituency

require a seasonal workforce of

5-10,000 workers. On one farm, it

employs 1000 seasonal workers. Those

700 people in my constituency cannot

plug the gap.

I represent a

constituency which produces about

30% of fresh produce in the country

with a big demand for seasonal

labour, as it always has done, for a

very long time. Would she concede

that the ready supply of relatively

inexpensive labour displaces

investment in recruitment and skills

and displaces investment in

technology and automation. That is

the macroeconomic evidence from

around the world as well as in this

country. And the Maxima right

honourable friend makes an important

point, that when employees have

access to a ready supply of

relatively cheap labour, then they

may choose to supply that workforce

can be used that workforce, rather

than invest in technology. We do

know that there are particular

challenges, for instance with the

automated picking of soft fruit. I

will come to that in a moment.

Although we would like to see more

automation, it isn't something that

will be achieved overnight. We need

a near-term solution to the media

labour problem hand-in-hand with

investment in the technology which

can help us to shift to a less

labour-intensive industry.

I'm

grateful to the noble friend for

giving way. Will she join me in

making some really valuable points,

with migrant workers helping

constituency workers but also work

with me and others to put pressure

on the government to make sure we

are championing our agricultural

industries and increasing their

prestige and the jobs they create,

so they become viable options for

young people and really show young

farmers the great contribution they

are making in constituencies like

mine and the honourable lady's?

I

agree that they should be

championing agricultural industries

and enabling more young people to go

into agriculture. There is a

challenge for farmers recruiting for

all kinds of jobs where they would

hope to recruit skilled British

Labour Burt Young people are not

going into the sector. Absolutely,

we should encourage that -- but

young people. And then that which

you also agree with me, that while

we all support greater investment in

technology within the agricultural

sector, if you take hillsides in

South Devon, you will never have a

technological solution for

harvesting in those kinds of

conditions.

I thank my honourable

friend for the point. I am wary to

say never but something for sure is

that with certain landscapes or

certain produce, it is very

difficult to do an entirely

automated production chain. It

simply is not possible, or it is a

very long way off. In the process of

getting them, we should make sure we

do not destroy industry so that if

we do not manage to stay in the

industry now we will not have the

opportunity to all sorts of

wonderful fruit production in

future. The final part in who as we

can employ, it has already been said

this afternoon, one thing that has

changed is the duration of the

season, and thanks to poly tunnels

we have a longer fruit growing

season which is far longer than

student holidays, with the

expectations of the consumer and the

supermarkets, and the requirement

for certain level intensities, and

consistency in production, it means

that having a casual student

workforce to do this simply is not

the right answer for modelling

production. I would also say that,

long-term, recruiting people from

further and further afield is

probably not the answer either. And

it probably will not make sense to

fly people from the other side of

the world to come and pick fruit

indefinitely. As I said, I think

automation will gradually replace

manual labour more and more and in

parts of the production line, it

already is. There are large amounts

of automation in the production line

and particularly for vegetables

rather than soft fruit. Growers to

tell us that the robotic picking of

soft fruit is a long way off. A

robot has been developed but it is

very slow and it will be able to do

it at remotely degrade or cost

effectiveness that is expected by

supermarkets and consumers. Fruit is

very different from when you are

manufacturing a product where you

have a consistent part that needs to

be put up to the thing. Every bit of

soft fruit is different. It requires

a huge amount of sophistication from

the vision system and artificial

intelligence. I do think it is out

there but we are some way off.

There is a recognition of the need

for investment in research and

development to improve productivity.

There is also an industrial strategy

challenge fund to support this area.

I would urge the government to do

even more to consider how to

incentivise automation in the

horticulture industry. To be clear,

the benefits of that automation are

particularly for the future. We have

to deal with the immediate problem

farmers have with their ability to

harvest fruit this year and in the

next few years.

She's right, of

course, we will continue to have a

demand for Labour. It is not static

for the reason she has just given.

In Lincolnshire colleagues are

working with the university in

Lincoln to look at the masses she

has described. I invite my

colleagues to do so with their own

local universities. There is real

progress to be made in looking at

where greater productivity can stem

from greater automation and

technology as well as the investment

in skills that I mentioned earlier.

I indeed agree with my right

honourable friend. Just to talk

briefly about the health dimension

of this debate, Madam Deputy

Speaker. There have been headlines

only this week that more than seven

in every ten people born between the

early 1980s and the mid-19 90s will

be overweight by the time they reach

middle age. That is seven in ten. We

know that one in five children are

obese by the time they leave primary

school, and one part of tackling the

obesity crisis we face in society is

to encourage people to eat more

healthily. On average, our fruit and

veg consumption needs to increase by

64% to be in line with the

government's dietary guidelines and

one of the biggest factors

influencing people's food choices is

price. The price of fruit and

vegetables has already been going

up. On average prices of the most

popular vegetables rose by 3.2% last

year. Fruit prices rose by 7.2%,

compared to overall inflation of

2.7%. Just the other day I happened

to be talking to a couple of mothers

who told me how they are shopping

around to get the best value fruit

and veg. Choosing, for instance, a

shop which sells carrots at 39p per

bag, including the funny shaped

ones, because that was the sort of

value they wanted in order to be

able to give their children a

healthy diet. But they are worried

that the rate of increase in the

prices of fruit and vegetables. They

are worried if they will be able to

continue to afford fresh fruit and

vegetables for their families if the

prices of fruit and veg continue to

go up. I will happily give way. Webb

thank you for giving way. I would

say that fruit and veg is seasonal

and the price of it is seasonal and

about availability and supply and

demand. It was interesting you chose

carrots. I own a current factory and

it is in my registered interests! --

current factory. The lifting is

mechanised and the washing and

selection, but the price of carrots

and vegetables has never been so

low. We are in a very competitive

industry. Warren I will defer to my

honourable friend's expertise on

carrots.

The reason I gave carrots

as an example was because it was

mentioned by these two mothers. The

point that I was making is how price

sensitive they are. I have heard

people say that fruit and veg is

really cheap, and that is not a

factor in people's shopping choices.

This was to illustrate that actually

took the Krakow shoppers look

carefully at specific prices of

fruit and vegetables. As prices are

going up, and on average as I

mentioned for fruit that has gone up

by 7.2%, that kind of rises going to

affect people's choices and their

ability to purchase fresh fruit and

vegetables for their families. A

problem that I particularly wanted

to make, with labour shortage is

happening now and on the horizon, I

am worried that will only push up

the price of fruit and vegetables

further. A seasonal workers scheme

would help British growers keep

producing affordable fruit and

vegetables. But while on the

subject, I do think the new

agricultural policy is an

opportunity to go further and it is

an opportunity for us as a country

to try and look further to look at

the production and consumption of

fruit and vegetables, and look at

how we can support growers more.

Looking the whole way along the

supply chain, at how we can reward

retailers, also for selling healthy

food and overall, what we can do to

our cultural policy -- agricultural

policy to enable consumers to buy

healthy fruit and vegetables so the

British people can eat a healthier

diet. We have a golden opportunity

right now to do that, as we rethink

the agricultural policy. But none of

that would be possible without a

workforce to pick and pack the

produce that we grow. Madam Deputy

Speaker, I once again urge the

government to introduce a seasonal

agricultural workers scheme, to not

make our growers keep on waiting, to

put an end to this uncertainty and

get on with it.

Thank you Madam

Deputy Speaker. Can I say first of

all it is a pleasure to follow the

honourable member for Faversham and

Mid Kent. I suspect we know some of

the same farmers and they were quite

comp entry about how she represents

them on this issue. I would say that

I hope she rediscovers her inner

Remainer and join us in a campaign

to stay in the European Union --

complimentary. Farmers I have spoken

too would like us to do exactly

that. I would like to congratulate

the honourable member for Angus in

securing the debate. She and others

have given us an opportunity to

reminisce on Strobl picking and Ross

Perot picking of our youth. I would

like to reminisce on mine, which

took place in France when I picked

strawberries for 50 hours a week at

ten francs an hour. After my first

day of straw brew picking, I was

sick as well. I dreamt of picking

strawberries throughout the rest of

the month because that is what I was

doing and I can also confirm that

the explosive capacity of the

Rasberry is much greater than that

of a strawberry and on impact, a

Rosebery makes a bigger stain than a

strawberry! But I welcome the fact

that she is secure in this debate.

And with the knowledge that I have

through family that have farmers in

Kent. What they have seen is that

already there has been a significant

downturn in the number of workers

coming from places like Bulgaria or

Romania and that is happening for a

number of reasons. Because The value

of the pound has reduced, and it has

also happened as a result of their

own economy is growing strongly and

I would argue strongly as a result

of their membership or in part as a

result of their membership of the

EU. Whilst in this house

occasionally people are reluctant to

talk of the benefits of the EU, I

would say in relation to the

economies of Bulgaria and Romania, I

suspect they have played a

significant part in that and as they

have, in growing economies, I feel

concerned that the UK, in the

process of Brighton, is making it

harder for us to export to the very

markets that we have helped to

create three supporting those

countries membership of the European

Union. What they are finding in

terms of the workers coming now is

that they are older, and they are

less well educated. It is no longer

students who are coming, it is an

older section of the population who

often do not speak English in the

way that students who used to come

did and often no students were

coming partly because they wanted to

practice their English, they wanted

to earn some money but also they are

looking at whether the UK was a

country where they wanted to stay on

longer term, clearly that is not

something which is of less interest

to them because of the perception

and more of the United Kingdom since

the vote on the 27th of June 20 16.

As several members have already

highlighted, don't expect these

people to be replaced by UK workers.

The honourable member for Faversham

referred to the 700,000 people on

jobseeker's allowance in her

constituency and between 5000 and

10,000 people who come to work on a

seasonal basis in the farmers and

the surrounding area, if they were

working there would not replace the

5000 to 10,000 to work in Kent.

Given that, as we heard, the

honourable member for Angus

confirmed that the picking season

can last up to ten months, it is a

substantial period of time that

those workers are needed. One farmer

I spoke to said that yes, he had

always sought British workers to

come and work in his farm, and in

six workers he had one who applied

and lasted two and a half weeks.

We're not going to find in the UK

jobs market people replacing all the

people working in a seasonal

capacity at the moment. Where do

they see the workers coming from?

Clearly as countries like Bulgaria

and Romania are getting stronger as

they have alternative is now in

terms of Spain and Germany being

more attractive perhaps because of

the fall in the value of a pound, we

need to look further afield. I don't

agree that we need to look as far

afield as Sri Lanka because the

cost, the farmer I spoke to reckoned

that the additional cost might be

three times the cost of bringing

someone from Ukraine, a cost that

the farmer will bear which makes our

industry less competitive. Which is

what is happening as a result of the

profile of the workers being older

and less productive. This adds to

costs which will also lead to an

increase in food prices as a result

of a less productive workforce. The

old SAWS scheme did allow workers

from Ukraine to come, 40 million

Ukrainians are waiting for the

market to be open to them, the

Moldovans and the Russians. All

members familiar with the scheme

were no that scheme was ready

tightly controlled scheme, it was

not scheme where people came to the

UK, worked and then disappeared into

the jobs market. They came here,

they worked hard, they earned money

and then went home. So there wasn't

an issue with people disappearing

and working and officially. That is

what they are calling for, I believe

that what has happened in Poland is

that Poland is now providing visas

to Ukrainians so Poland is

benefiting from an influx of

Ukrainians and is making their

agricultural sector much more

productive. They are earning the

princely sum of £20 a day working in

Poland, not something we would want

to replicate here but it just

demonstrates that they are accessing

those workers and it is contributing

to their agriculture whilst ours is

suffering. Now in the south at

least, in Kent, the Member for

Faversham and Mid Kent did highlight

some cases where produce had not

been picked, but I think on the

whole Kent has just about managed

this year and this coming season is

going to present the real challenge

for them. And so any scheme needs to

be up and running now, it is not a

scheme that the new financial year,

April, sometime towards the end of

the year, that is a scheme that

needs to be up and running now

because the season is a ten month

season and these people are needed

now, not in months' time. And many

members will have heard figures

quoted by the NFU of a 12.5%

shortfall in seasonal workers this

year, and the situation is not

likely to improve in the next 12

months. Again a number of members

have rightly pointed out that while

longer term automation, perhaps, may

provide part of the solution and has

done in some industries, in relation

to the agriculture sector, currently

it cannot. So it is not a case of

saying, people are using cheap

Labour and not therefore investing

in equipment, there's not the

equipment to invest in, yet. There

may be in five years' time in terms

of apple picking and plum picking. I

am happy to give way.

Thank you to

the honourable member for giving

way. I own a current factory. There

is enormous mechanisation in

vegetable picking, and in top fruit

picking, if not soft fruit picking.

I would say to him that the

availability of relatively cheap

Labour did stop enormous investment

in mechanisation and that

mechanisation has come down greatly

in price. Would he agree that some

of what we are speaking about would

encourage factories to mechanise.

Agree and I am happy for his

intervention, there has to be a

balance and my understanding is,

yes, particularly in a packing

environment, you Jim and can be done

with mechanisation but in relation

to things like apple picking and

plum picking it is not there yet. It

may not be for four or five years,

knows. There's a lot of talk about

technological solutions being the

solution to the border between

Northern Ireland and Ireland or the

border between Camden and

Westminster! Yet in practice those

blue sky solutions don't exist.

Although one person suggested that

drones might be the solution to the

border between Northern Ireland and

Ireland and maybe that is the

solution to picking plums and

doubles as well. Realistically those

solutions are not there yet. What is

the solution. Many will not be

surprised that the Liberal Democrats

will continue to campaign for vote

on the deal so that if people don't

like what they are being offered in

terms of an eventual deal struck

between the UK Government and the

EU, they have a chance of pulling

away from it and stopping Brexit. If

that doesn't happen what is the

immediate solution to the problem we

have with a SAWS scheme. It is

clearly to allow workers from EU and

increasingly non-EU countries to

come to the UK in control schemes

that have worked effectively in the

past, it will be about helping on

the technological front to ensure

that the investment does go into the

areas where that can make a

difference, it does make a seasonal

scheme, I've heard senior ministers

in the past saying we could sorted

out by introducing six-month visas,

that would be sufficient. We have

heard now that the season is ten

months long so they need to be

longer than the six month proposal.

And I think if all that can be

implemented now, not at the end of

the year, not the next season, then

there is a realistic prospect that

most of our farmers will be able to

pick all their crops if this is not

acted on now, then there is a real

risk that the reports towards the

end of this year will be about a

substantially greater proportion of

fruit and vegetables being left to

rot, I was going to complete but I

will pause and give way.

Before he

sits down, is it possible that our

farmers will get through this year

because freedom of movement is still

available and there are access to

eastern European migrants who

hopefully will come to work. But

next year 's rate kicks in, freedom

of movement will end. It's about

point that we need innovative

solutions so that the crop could be

picked.

I agree entirely that there

needs to be a sense of urgency about

this. Although as I understand it,

it was a U-turn by the government

yesterday were having said that

March 2019 was the cut off date,

they will allow that to continue in

the transition. So if that is

correct they that might help the

industry for a few more years. On

that point DEFRA am happy to

conclude and thank the Member for

and for securing the debate.

Sarah

Wollaston.

Madam Deputy Speaker and

is a pleasure to follow the member.

I would like to congratulate my

honourable friend the Member for

Angus were bringing this debate, and

to all those who have spoken so

compellingly about the absolute need

for us to address this. We do not

have the luxury of time on our side.

Physically I am sure members across

the House would like to join me in

paying tribute to our farmers and

fissures. If we think it is called

here imagine what it is like on

Dartmoor farm in now or on Abe

Brixton trawler. I think we would

all pay tribute to all of those

putting food on our plates and thank

them for what they do. I would like

to particularly thank Riverford farm

in my constituency and all the

farmers who have written to me about

this issue, and the NFU for the work

they are doing to collect evidence

of this. But one thing I would like

to say is, referring to the fact

that we don't have the luxury of

time, the point has been made very

compellingly to me by Riverford

Farm, that it is this autumn that

they have those crunch decisions to

make about employing for the

following year. There is still great

uncertainty about the transition

period and as we have heard so

compellingly from members across

this House, even if we do have a

transition in place, there is here

and no shortage of workforce and the

seasonal agricultural workers scheme

is a mechanism we could use to

address that. Of course I realise

that the government has commissioned

the immigration advisory committee

to research the impact of leaving

the EU on the UK Labour market and

how to align immigration policy with

a modern industrial strategy but my

concern is that that is not due to

report into the autumn. And it will

take time to then implement such a

scheme after that. I just don't

think we have the luxury of that

time. And given that already in

place across the EU are many nations

that already supplement their

workforce with a seasonal

agricultural workers scheme. Would

the minister in her response to this

debate, would she give some hope

that the government will make a

decision on this? That the Home

Office will decide sooner than we

would expect from the current

timetable of a report coming forward

from the autumn? Because it is the

uncertainty that is delaying

investment here and now for the

future. So we really do need to have

something to take back to our

constituents and these important

businesses who after all already

making great efforts to recruit

locally but as we have heard, even

with all those efforts and the

scheme is going in to try to

encourage and retain a UK-based

workforce, they are absolutely

dependent on having a supplemented

workforce from outside the country.

And particularly as the mother of

someone who works in the robotics

industry, I do appreciate the

investment that is going into these

technological solutions. I am afraid

it simply is not going to provide

all the answers that we need in

order to make sure that our crops

are picked in a timely manner,

because there can be nothing more

heartbreaking than seeing crops

rotting in the fields as I am sure

that the minister will reflect in

her closing remarks.

Thank you to

the honourable member, thank you for

giving way. I just want to reflect

that we have heard from other

members that the Labour force will

have to come from outside the EU and

outside the EEA. Is this not, as we

leave the EU, an opportunity for

policy to employ people from outside

the EEA area and if we were not

leaving, there may not be the same

opportunity because of EU

regulation.

Is I remain of the view that we

should actually be focusing also on

the issues of frictionless trade and

keeping close links to our European

Union partners, as we exit the EU.

But I think these issues will arise

irrespective of that, as we have

heard. So I do think that this is

something that, whatever the

situation with transition, I hope

the minister will consider this as

something that we could use to

supplement the arrangements that we

will have. But most of all, I would

like the Minister to give us some

indication of when we are likely to

see a decision, because for farmers

in my constituency, here and now,

they are starting to make decisions

about their future plans and

investment that will not only impact

their businesses, but remember, that

they also employ a local workforce

in many other capacities. And it

will affect them. So I think the

implications for our industry are

very far reaching and I hope the

Minister will give some indication

of when we will see an answer.

Kate

Green.

Thank you Madam Deputy

Speaker, it is great to sit in the

chair. Let me congratulate the

honourable member for Angus on an

excellent introduction to this

debate and thank the business

committee for making time for it.

May I also draw the houses attention

to an interest that I declare in

relation to support I received from

the good-faith partnership who work

with me on migration issues. They

have just started in the last few

days, and I will give you details of

this comment on the register later