Letter from the EFRA committee to the MAC, 5 April 2022 (accessible)
Published 27 June 2022
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From the Chair of the Committee
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Committee Office,
House of Commons,
London, SW1A 0AA
Tel 020 7219 6194/5528
Email efracom@parliament.uk
Website www.parliament.uk
Dear Professor Bell
Request to the Migration Advisory Committee
5 April 2022
Tomorrow, the EFRA Committee is publishing its Report, “Labour Shortages in the Food and Farming Sector”, an embargoed copy of which is attached. The Report notes the extent and impact of labour shortages, and also the role of the immigration system. The sector has a long-standing reliance on overseas workers – while we call for steps to address this reliance in the longer-term, in the short-term migration will continue to make a significant contribution to meeting the demand for labour from the sector.
Under the Framework Document between the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) and the Home Office, we note that the MAC’s terms of reference permit the MAC to engage in work of its choosing and to comment on the operation of any aspect of the immigration system.
Our report therefore calls for the MAC initiate a review of the labour needs of the food and farming sector. I hope you are able to accept this recommendation and commence the review as swiftly as you are able.
Should you undertake such a review, our Report, together with the evidence we have published, should provide a helpful starting point for the MAC’s work, and we stand ready to offer further assistance should you require it.
I am copying this letter to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Home Secretary.
Yours Sincerely,
Neil Parish MP Chair of the Committee