Inspection report considers effectiveness of Seasonal Worker and Skilled Worker visa routes for agriculture
New from David Neal, the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI), last month was an inspection report on the immigration system for the agricultural sector.
Image credit: UK GovernmentYou can download the 71-page report here.
As the ICIBI notes, immigration for agriculture plays a pivotal role in the UK's production of food and directly contributes to the country's food security. The report highlights that the agricultural sector says its industry would have "collapsed" without migrant workers.
The ICIBI report provides a useful overview of the immigration routes available for the agricultural sector, namely the Seasonal Worker visa and the Skilled Worker visa. It examines the effectiveness of the routes, the extent and quality of communication and engagement between the Home Office and the agricultural sector, and how the Home Office assures itself that sponsors are upholding their compliance requirements.
David Neal said in summing up the report's findings: "The Home office has succeeded in playing its part in delivering immigration routes for the agricultural sector that go some way to meeting their stated needs. However, this inspection found significant room for improvement in three key areas: compliance, communication and clarity of roles and responsibilities."
On the seasonal worker route, ICIBI inspectors found that the Home Office's visa processing system was working effectively and efficiently, helped by the relatively straightforward application process compared with other immigration routes.
Since its introduction in 2019, over 66,000 people had come to the UK under the Seasonal Worker visa route as at the time of the ICIBI's inspection in August 2022.
The ICIBI report notes, however, that many farmers and farmer representatives consider the visa's length of six months to be too short, as modern growing techniques mean the agricultural season is now almost year-round.
Inspectors also found that there was frustration in the sector over the repeated occurrence of short-notice announcements by the Home Office concerning amendments to the Seasonal Worker visa route terms and policies. Several farms visited during the ICIBI's inspection said that such short-notice changes had a negative impact on their business plans.
Under the Skilled Worker visa route, only 2,389 people had come to the UK by the start of last August. Inspectors found this route was widely characterised by the agricultural sector as being "expensive", "inflexible" and "bureaucratic".
In terms of overall concerns with agricultural visas, the ICIBI found that the Home Office needs to do more to ensure that seasonal workers are protected from exploitation and unacceptable employment conditions.
David Neal said: "[T]he Home Office should significantly raise its game to assure itself that scheme operators of the Seasonal Worker route are meeting compliance requirements. Officials acknowledged the tension between supporting the agricultural sector and ensuring good governance of the immigration system and had drafted comprehensive requirements for scheme operators. These have improved as the scheme has matured. However, unless this guidance is underpinned by policies, resolve and resources, it is unlikely to make a material difference. In a supply chain in which workers are vulnerable to exploitation, the Home Office needs to do more to assure itself, the sector and the general public that it is not perpetuating unacceptable employment conditions for seasonal workers."
Neal also called on the Home Office to improve its engagement and collaboration with the agricultural sector. The report notes: "Despite the agricultural sector being the only sector with a dedicated immigration route, the evidence showed no formal routine engagement between the sector and the Home Office, outside the PBS [points-based immigration system] advisory groups."
Finally, David Neal found there was a lack of overall clarity regarding the roles and responsibilities of the various government departments involved in the immigration routes available to the agricultural sector, and he called for a more coordinated approach across government to address this issue.
In its official response to the report, the Home Office accepted all three of the ICIBI's recommendations.
Meanwhile, the Government announced last month that 45,000 visas for seasonal workers will be available for businesses in 2023, an increase of 15,000 compared to what was available at the start of 2022. There could be a potential further increase of 10,000 visas for 2023 if necessary.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the increased number of visas would help British food producers tackle labour shortages and rising input costs.