Agriculture: Foreign Workers

Mr. Stewart Jackson
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many temporary agricultural workers permits have been issued to (a) Romanian nationals and (b) Bulgarian nationals since 1 January 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Byrne
Provisional figures indicate that for the period 1 January to 31 March 2007, 1,535 work cards have been issued for Bulgarian nationals and 890 work cards for Romanian nationals wanting to participate in the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Scheme.

The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.