UK: Gov’t to extend seasonal worker policy

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The UK government announced Tuesday that it would extend a policy allowing the use of foreign seasonal agricultural workers for another five years, seeking to improve damaged relations with farmers.

The move will give farms “a pipeline of workers and certainty to grow their businesses”, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said in a statement.

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It is part of a wider raft of policies announced Tuesday to boost profits for farmers, who are currently locked in a dispute with the government over plans to end an exemption for farms from inheritance tax rules.

While the Labour government has promised to reduce immigration, the ministry says an annual review of quotas will “ensure we strike the right balance – supporting farms while gradually reducing visa numbers as we develop alternative solutions”.

Since leaving the European Union, the UK’s agricultural sector has suffered from recurring labour shortages in livestock farming, market gardening and horticulture.