“While there has been a small reduction in numbers, we are hopeful it will still be sufficient for the year ahead,” said NFU president Tom Bradshaw as ministers set out the next phase of the Seasonal Worker scheme. The Government has also published its formal response today (29 January 2026) to the Migration Advisory Committee’s review, a package that matters most to growers and packhouses outside the M25 - including the North’s salad and soft fruit belt. (nfuonline.com)

On certainty, the Government points back to its 25 February 2025 decision to keep the route for five years, running to 2029, while promising only two years’ notice if it ever plans to close it - not the five the MAC wanted. Ministers say immediate closure would still be possible in extreme cases such as threats to immigration control or national security. For farms planning rotations and glasshouse investments across Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria, that shorter notice period will feel tight. (gov.uk)

Flexibility is being tweaked. From November 2025, horticulture workers can spend up to six months in any rolling ten‑month period in the UK - in practice, a four‑month gap between stints - after the Home Office updated the rules. Sponsor guidance issued in December clarified the four‑month cooling‑off is measured from the start date on a worker’s certificate of sponsorship. That should better match early spring salad work through to late‑summer berries in northern polytunnels. (gov.uk)

But the Home Office rejected the MAC idea that a worker could do any six months in a calendar year. Officials argue that would create compliance headaches for farms and scheme operators and raise the risk of illegal working. In other words, there’s a bit more give in the system than before, but not a free‑for‑all on timing. (gov.uk)

On pay and conditions, the floor remains clear. For horticulture and most poultry roles, sponsors must guarantee at least 32 paid hours a week at a minimum of £12.21 per hour for certificates issued from 9 April 2025; higher rates apply to specific poultry occupation codes. These requirements sit alongside Working Time rules and a long‑standing 32‑hour guarantee to curb zero‑hours practices. Northern producers should check their contracts and payroll systems reflect these thresholds. (gov.uk)

The Government batted away a blanket guarantee of two months’ pay, saying it prefers to explore the Employer Pays Principle - the idea that workers shouldn’t shoulder recruitment, visa or travel costs - as the cleaner fix to the debt risk. HMRC’s P85 process for tax refunds has been simplified and there’ll be no carve‑out from auto‑enrolment pensions for seasonal workers. Expect accountants from Preston to Pickering to be fielding more questions on refunds and pension opt‑outs this spring. (gov.uk)

EPP remains the live debate. Defra and the industry Taskforce published a feasibility study last July, with small pilots run by two scheme operators. Worker groups want EPP mandated; growers warn that pushing all costs onto farms would cripple margins unless retailers share the bill. The MAC’s original push for EPP set the tone; ministers now want industry to figure out the funding. Retail buying teams and northern growers will have to thrash this out together. (freshproduce.org.uk)

Enforcement is set to tighten. The response folds worker protection into the incoming Fair Work Agency, which the Government says will combine enforcement functions and add heft to inspections and penalties. UKVI has already started bi‑monthly meetings with scheme sponsors. With Matthew Taylor named as the first chair and launch slated for April 2026, farms and labour providers across the North should expect closer scrutiny on pay, hours and accommodation. (gov.uk)

The numbers are now on the record. For 2025, the Government set 43,000 horticulture places and 2,000 for poultry. For 2026, it confirmed 41,000 for horticulture and 1,900 for poultry - a small step down that still gives growers a base to plan. The NFU wants allocations mapped out to 2029 to match crop cycles and investment lead times. (gov.uk)

Ministers also want fewer hands picking and more robots packing. Alongside the five‑year extension, Defra flagged work to fully automate a group of major packhouses within 12–18 months, feeding into a £50m automation fund. For sites from the Vale of York to West Lancashire processing salad, brassicas and berries, the real test will be whether kit arrives quickly enough - and whether retailers pay prices that justify the spend. (gov.uk)

For northern businesses, the immediate to‑do list is practical. Map recruitment around the four‑month gap rule; lock in bookings with scheme operators early; and budget against the 32‑hour weekly guarantee and the £12.21 hourly floor. Keep an eye on EPP - if costs shift up the chain, contracts with buyers may need rewriting to protect thin margins. That’s where the difference between survival and exit will be decided this season. (gov.uk)

As ever, policy sits within a tighter labour market. MAC chair Prof Brian Bell has warned that lower net migration into 2026 could squeeze sectors reliant on short‑term staff. If that squeeze coincides with later‑than‑hoped automation and no clarity on 2027–2029 visa numbers, the risk of unharvested crops returns - not just in Kent but in Lancashire’s salad hub and across Yorkshire’s glasshouses. (theguardian.com)