Three months in and we’re yet to see the full effect of life outside the bloc. But for industries reliant on overseas staff like the care and agriculture sectors, it’s a different story
It’s a job that pays around £40,000 a year but few people want to do it, and it can’t be done by a machine. So when ‘chick sexers’ – who determine whether young chickens are male or female so they can be sorted for meat or eggs – were added to the skilled worker list set by the Migration Advisory Committee, poultry farmers breathed a sigh of relief. Butchers, bricklayers and deckhands have also been added to the list of shortage occupations for which there are not enough resident workers, offering a smoother route for migrant workers to come to the UK.
The GLAA led 26% more investigations year on year
Real-terms funding for the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority has fallen for the second year in a row despite it dealing with a growing number of cases, its latest report and accounts have shown.
The anti-modern slavery and labour exploitation quango, which licenses recruitment agencies used by the fresh produce sector, has received more funding since its remit was expanded to allow labour offence investigations in 2017. However, its costs have continued to grow at a greater rate.
The GLAA’s net expenditure grew 6% (£376k) to £6.6m in the year to 31 March 2020. But Home Office funding only increased 2.3% (£131k) to £5.9m over this period. It left a funding shortfall of £713k (11%) – a gap 4% larger than last year. This meant the organisation’s reserves fell £294k into the red.
By Henry Sandercock2021-01-07T12:41:00+00:00
Defra said gene editing differed from genetic modification as it would only add DNA from the same species using natural methods
The government has announced plans that could pave the way for food crops to undergo gene editing processes.
Gene editing, which is currently regulated in the same way as genetic modification under EU law, could help plants become more resistant to pests, diseases and extreme weather events, and add extra nutritional benefits, according to Defra.
It could also help the UK’s environmental agenda, the department said, as farmers would be able rely less on pesticides.
By Henry Sandercock2020-12-22T16:53:00+00:00
Defra said it planned to work with the industry to build on this year’s Pick for Britain campaign to encourage UK workers to take up agricultural roles
Growers have welcomed the government’s announcement it will extend the Seasonal Agricultural Workers pilot to 30,000 permits for next year.
The pilot scheme, which was relaunched in 2018 in a bid to ensure growers could hire enough labour to pick and pack the UK’s crops after Brexit, allows migrant workers to enter the UK to work for a six-month period.
The move triples the size of this year’s iteration of the pilot, which saw 10,000 permits granted.
By Henry Sandercock2020-12-16T12:45:00+00:00
The UK is said by British Summer Fruits to be “almost totally reliant” on EU supply of strawberry plants
Next year’s crop of British-grown strawberries could be under threat if lorry queues at ports become too long, industry figures have warned.
According to British Summer Fruits, of the 100 million plants used to grow strawberry crops in the UK each year, 95% are currently brought in on lorries from continental Europe, with the remainder grown domestically.
While, like other food-related imports, live plants will not be subjected to customs checks until mid-2021, there are fears they could get caught up in lorry queues regardless of whether the UK secures a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU.