Shropshire Star

Paterson calls for permits to allow European fruit pickers to work

European fruit pickers should be allowed to work in the country on permits after Brexit, according to former cabinet minister Owen Paterson.

Published
Owen Paterson

Mr Paterson said that there has to be a post-Brexit mechanism to allow employers to take on skilled European staff, be it fruit pickers or eye surgeons.

The North Shropshire MP's comments come after British Summer Fruits, the body which represents soft fruit growers, said it does not know if there will be enough workers to pick crops after Britain leaves the European Union.

Around 80,000 seasonal workers a year pick and process fruit and vegetables, most from the European Union, particularly Romania and Bulgaria.

The organisation says it has already seen a decline in the number of workers coming to the country to work as pickers.

Mr Paterson said the government would address the issue through legislation proposed in the Queen's Speech.

He said: "This came up when I was doing Defra. The most angry people I met were the fruit farmers and vegetable pickers who had lost a scheme called the seasonal agricultural workers scheme which brought in 21,200 people to specific addresses, they had proper accommodation, proper catering, proper medical facilities and they did specific jobs.

"There no doubt we do need to have a scheme that can bring in targeted skilled workers, whether they are fruit pickers or eye surgeons."

Mr Paterson said that British people without work could also be trained up to carry out fruit picking.

He said: "Obviously we need to have a managed scheme to allow people to come and work where local people won't do it. But we also need to put pressure on local people to work when they can.

"There is no need parking them on welfare when they could be re-trained to get back to work and that is what a scheme operated in New Zealand does."

British Summer Fruits has commissioned a report on the potential implications for its growers, and consumers, of Brexit.

It warns that soft fruit prices could rise by up to 50 per cent if the UK relied solely on imports.

Laurence Olins, chairman of British Summer Fruits said: "It is inconceivable that people who voted to leave the European Union wanted to destroy an iconic and incredibly competitive British horticulture industry.

"Failure to secure the future of soft fruit production in the UK will have a negative impact on the economy, family budgets, the nation's health, UK food security and the environment."