The British Poultry Council has branded the government’s plan to end free movement of people as “insulting to Britain’s food heroes”.
The Home Office this week introduced the Immigration & Social Security Coordination Bill to parliament, claiming it reaffirmed Downing Street’s “commitment to delivering a fairer and skills-led immigration system”.
But the BPC hit out at the Bill – which home secretary Priti Patel insisted would “open Britain up to the world” – for continuing to label those now seen as “key workers in food, who have worked incredibly hard to keep this country running throughout the coronavirus crisis, as low-skilled and therefore disposable”.
Sixty percent of the poultry sector’s workforce comprised EU nationals vital to operations, it stressed. “The current estimation of the annual turnover of staff is 30%. Hence, every year, our industry has about 7,000 vacancies that need to be filled with non-UK workers.”
Ministers needed to “acknowledge the food on the nation’s dinner tables under lockdown is being produced in large part by the people who their proposed policy will alienate”, the BPA urged.
The new, points-based system showed “a complete disregard for British food production and may have a crippling effect on our national food security” it added.
“Our sector has jobs that need human skills, jobs that support our economy and communities, and jobs that ensure everyone has access to British food produced to British standards.”
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