28th Sep 2021 - 06:00
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Abstract
The UK’s food and farming sector has written a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson asking him to implement a Covid Recovery Visa to alleviate the crippling labour shortages across the supply chain.
The ongoing labour crisis has resulted in empty shelves in some supermarkets and in some cases food left on farms unable to be picked up or processed.
The 12 organisations behind the letter are united in the short and long-term measures needed to solve this issue:
- The introduction of a 12-month Covid Recovery Visa which would enable all involved throughout the supply chain to recruit critical roles as a short-term response to labour shortages.
- Commitment to a permanent, revised and expanded Seasonal Worker Scheme for UK horticulture to ensure it is flexible and large enough to meet the industry’s workforce needs.
- An urgent review by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) on the impact of ending free movement on the food and farming sector, in the same way it is doing for adult social care.
Signatories to the letter include the British Frozen Food Federation, Food and Drink Federation, National Farmers’ Union and UKHospitality.
To read the letter, visit here.