Seasonal worker visa extended despite vow to cut numbers

A farming visa scheme that allows 45,000 migrants a year into Britain will be extended until the end of the decade despite a vow to reduce numbers.

Steve Barclay, the Environment Secretary, has announced that the programme for foreign crop and fruit pickers will run until at least 2029.

His announcement comes after Rishi Sunak pledged to tighten up work visas in response to Tory anger over record net migration.

The move comes amid concern that staff shortages on farms, especially around harvest time, and in the supply chain will put food production at risk.

Mr Barclay announced that 45,000 seasonal worker visas would be made available next year, the same number that has been on offer for 2023-24.

That is much higher than the figure Boris Johnson committed to when, in 2021, he pledged to start winding the scheme down.

His government extended the programme for three years, but did so with a vow that the number of visas would “begin to taper down” from 2023.

At the time, Downing Street said that the farming sector would have to improve pay and conditions so that it attracted more domestic staff.

Mr Barclay said that the decision to keep it in place for a further five years would give farmers time to end their reliance on foreign workers.

He said: “We have a world-class food and drink sector, and the measures announced today will strengthen this by boosting funding for the cutting-edge technology that will reduce reliance on migrant labour in the long term.

“Businesses do best when they can plan effectively for the future, which is why we’ve extended the seasonal worker visa route until 2029 to give farmers and growers the certainty they need to thrive.”

He added that the visa figures for 2026-29 would be set out later this year.

Ministers are investing £50 million in mechanising food packing plants and developing new robot fruit and crop pickers that can replace foreign workers.

They hope advances in technology will mean the seasonal workers scheme can be shuttered at the end of the decade.

The programme was initially launched in 2019 before Britain fully left the EU, and at first offered just 2,500 visas to workers coming from outside the bloc.

When free movement from Europe ended the numbers were significantly ramped up, with 30,000 places made available in 2022.

Before the invasion of Ukraine many workers came from Russia. Now large numbers arrive from ex-Soviet states including Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

The seasonal worker route allows foreign labourers to come to Britain for up to six months to work in the horticulture sector, with most working over the summer.

Concerns have previously been raised that a high number of people who travel to Britain on such visas end up overstaying and entering the black market.