The GLAA led 26% more investigations year on year
Real-terms funding for the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority has fallen for the second year in a row despite it dealing with a growing number of cases, its latest report and accounts have shown.
The anti-modern slavery and labour exploitation quango, which licenses recruitment agencies used by the fresh produce sector, has received more funding since its remit was expanded to allow labour offence investigations in 2017. However, its costs have continued to grow at a greater rate.
The GLAA’s net expenditure grew 6% (£376k) to £6.6m in the year to 31 March 2020. But Home Office funding only increased 2.3% (£131k) to £5.9m over this period. It left a funding shortfall of £713k (11%) – a gap 4% larger than last year. This meant the organisation’s reserves fell £294k into the red.
Fruit and veg
The U.K. grows less than a fifth of its fruit and only half of its vegetables. There should be plenty of seasonal produce like brussels sprouts this time of year, according to the British Growers Association. But supply of salads, berries and citrus could be at threat.
The U.K. typically imports more than 400,000 tons of fresh tomatoes annually, and only produces about a fifth as much. It imported more than 2.5 billion pounds ($3.3 billion) of vegetables last year, with onions, tomatoes and sweet peppers topping the list. Fruit imports were even higher, at 3.9 billion pounds.
Fish
MONEYWEB
app instead?
While meat piles up. 08:51
Image: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
Too much lamb and salmon, but not nearly enough fruit and vegetables: with key transport links to mainland Europe freezing up and a no-deal Brexit still a real possibility, the UKâs ability to produce its own food is back in the spotlight.
Industry groups have warned of looming shortages and shoppers queued up at supermarkets in London, after France on Sunday suspended travel from the UK for 48 hours. While traffic into the UK remains open, truckers often run supplies in both directions and may be deterred by the restrictions on leaving, which are aimed at curbing the spread of a fast-spreading new strain of the coronavirus.
By Henry Sandercock2020-12-22T16:53:00+00:00
Defra said it planned to work with the industry to build on this year’s Pick for Britain campaign to encourage UK workers to take up agricultural roles
Growers have welcomed the government’s announcement it will extend the Seasonal Agricultural Workers pilot to 30,000 permits for next year.
The pilot scheme, which was relaunched in 2018 in a bid to ensure growers could hire enough labour to pick and pack the UK’s crops after Brexit, allows migrant workers to enter the UK to work for a six-month period.
The move triples the size of this year’s iteration of the pilot, which saw 10,000 permits granted.
Salad crisis as Sainsbury s says ongoing border closure could cause fresh food shortages
The Government moved to calm shoppers after pictures on social media showed empty shelves and long queues outside supermarkets
21 December 2020 • 5:00pm
A sign at Dover saying the French border is closed
Credit: Anadolu Agency
One of Britain’s biggest supermarkets has warned that ongoing border closures could lead to a looming salad crisis as shoppers were seen queueing at the crack of dawn for food.
Sainsbury’s said that if nothing changes, “we will start to see gaps over the coming days on lettuce, some salad leaves, cauliflowers, broccoli and citrus fruit”, which are all imported from Europe.