Clause 34 - Enforcement officers for agricultural wages legislation
Employment Relations Bill
10:45 am
Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk, Conservative)
I represent an agricultural and farming constituency, and it has always surprised me that officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs enforce the minimum wage for agricultural workers, rather than officials of the Inland Revenue. I presume that the reasons for that are historical: for instance, the framework of the Agricultural Wages Board was in place. However, would it not make sense to change that, as the Government are keen on streamlining the operations
of Whitehall, and the Inland Revenue has substantial expertise in the field of the enforcement of the minimum wage?
In my constituency and in south Lincolnshire there are many food packing and food processing businesses that are closely linked to the agricultural sector. There might be farms on which the Inland Revenue enforces the minimum wage if there is a plant for packing, potato grading or carrot topping, but DEFRA officials enforce it if people who drive tractors or other types of agricultural equipment are also employed.
It might be a good idea for the Minister's officials to seize this opportunity to try to rationalise the situation. He might talk to his colleagues in DEFRA and explain that it would make sense for everything to be put under the roof of one organisation. That would make things more streamlined and user-friendly for growers and farmers, particularly in places such as East Anglia.