Business leaders have welcomed the reports that prime minister Liz Truss is planning to launch a big review of Britain’s visa system to tackle acute labour shortages in key industries, including seasonal agriculture.
It has also been suggested that she could ease the English-language requirement in some sectors to enable more foreign workers to qualify for visas to raise the number of workers allowed to enter the UK, Financial Times reported.
The chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, announced last week that a new plan would be published in the coming weeks “to ensure the immigration system supports growth while maintaining control”.
CBI employers’ organisation said that guarding against skills and labour shortages can simultaneously help keep inflation in check while ensuring firms have the people they need to grow, benefiting everyone.
Craig Beaumont of the Federation of Small Businesses called it “positive” news.
“We have asked for the Migration Advisory Committee to conduct a full review of the shortage occupation list to cover all job roles that are in shortage irrespective of their skill level,” he said.
A Downing Street official, however, said that the review would not necessarily lead to a net increase in immigration.
“We need to put measures in place so that we have the right skills that the economy, including the rural economy, needs to stimulate growth,” the official said. “That will involve increasing numbers in some areas and decreasing in others.”
Last year, a shortage of seasonal workers led to concerns about potential food shortages as companies in the food production and processing sector struggled to keep up with demand.
Two million UK job vacancies were advertised last month, while the farming industry has called for an extra 30,000 visas for seasonal workers. There is also a shortfall of 100,000 HGV drivers.
During her campaign for the Tory leadership, Truss promised to tackle the labour shortages in farming – partly caused by post-Brexit freedom of movement restrictions and accentuated by the pandemic – with a short-term expansion to the seasonal worker's scheme.
Truss’ review of the immigration system is likely to run into opposition from some Brexiters in her cabinet, including the home secretary, Suella Braverman, and the trade secretary, Kemi Badenoch, according to the Sunday Times.
The report added that Nadhim Zahawi had chaired a meeting last week about the proposed changes. He is understood to be in favour of updating the shortage occupations list. The environment secretary, Ranil Jayawardena, is believed to be backing the plan to boost the number of seasonal farm workers.
