A package of measures to provide certainty and stability to
farmers and growers in the UK's horticulture, poultry and sheep
sectors has been announced by the government today (Monday 21
October).
Underlining the government's commitment to the horticultural and
poultry sectors, the Seasonal Worker visa route has been
confirmed for 2025, with a total of 43,000 Seasonal Worker visas
available for horticulture and 2,000 for poultry next year.
This will provide certainty and will help the sector secure the
labour and skills needed to bring high quality British produce,
including strawberries, rhubarb, turkey and daffodils to
market.
Alongside this, the government is taking action to keep costs
down and protect poultry farmers from the impact of avian
influenza and delivering fairness in the supply chain for sheep
farmers by ensuring producers receive a fair price for their
livestock through legislation to mandate sheep carcase
classification and price reporting.
Food Security Minister said:
This government recognises that food security is national
security, and this can only be achieved by supporting food and
farming businesses.
Confirming the seasonal worker visa allocation for 2025 gives
growers and producers certainty, allowing them to plan ahead and
secure the labour they need to grow and
thrive.
This package of measures will also support farmers by protecting
our poultry producers from the impact of avian flu outbreaks and
ensuring fairness in the sheep supply chain.
As well as confirming visa numbers for 2025, Defra has also
published the 2023 Seasonal Worker's Survey report. This is an
important part of Defra's commitment to monitoring the welfare of
the seasonal migrant workers who help bring home the horticulture
harvest each year.
Conducted in early 2024, the survey shows that the vast majority
of respondents (91.0%) reported a positive experience from their
time in the UK and 95% expressed a desire to return.
The government is working with industry to improve these numbers
further through its farm compliance checks to ensure sponsors are
adhering to their duties and undertaking welfare checks on
workers, and working with international partners to ensure
workers know what work to expect before they arrive and can avoid
unnecessary costs and fees.
Measures announced on egg and poultry labelling will help farmers
to deal with the impact of future avian influenza
outbreaks.
Currently, when mandatory housing measures are introduced to
protect birds from the spread of disease, eggs from free-range
birds can only continue to be labelled as ‘free-range' for 16
weeks after the housing order has come into effect – leading to
significant costs to industry. The changes will mean that
free-range eggs can continue to be labelled as such throughout
mandatory housing measures.
This will be brought in through legislation due to be laid on 4
November, and is expected to take effect in January 2025,
ensuring a level playing field for UK free-range egg producers
against producers in the EU.
A consultation on introducing similar measures for the labelling
of free-range poultry is also being launched – proposing the
removal of the current restrictions which mean that free range
poultry can only be labelled as such for 12 weeks after the
introduction of housing measures, and the removal of the need for
optional indicator certificates to accompany imported poultry
meat.
The government is also taking action to ensure fairness across
the food supply chain to ensure producers receive a fair price
for their livestock by bringing forward legislation to mandate
sheep carcase classification and price reporting, bringing the
sheep sector in line with the beef and pork sectors.
