Care leaders, unions and one of the devolved parliaments line up to criticise the government’s new plans to ban recruitment from abroad.
The government’s new plans to ban recruitment from abroad have been criticised by leaders in the care industry with Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, complaining that social care has been, yet again, “sacrificed to score political points”.
As part of Keir Starmer’s long-awaited plans to cut levels of immigration into the UK, the British prime minister made what has been interpreted as an attempt to calm his critics on the right of British politics with the deliberately provocative description of Britain as an “island of strangers” without immigration controls.
Trailed in the media over the weekend, the prime minister launched its immigration white paper on Monday 12 May, setting out proposals for future laws that it claimed would make the system “controlled, selective and fair”.
The paper calls for an end to overseas recruitment for social care visas.
“In line with our wider reforms to skills thresholds, we will close social care visas to new applications from abroad,” it said.
It is also closing a dedicated visa for social care providers that want to recruit from abroad, which the previous government had introduced after Brexit. This, it said it was doing, because of what it called “concerns of exploitation and abuse in the sector”.
For a transition period until 2028, while the workforce strategy is being developed and rolled out, visa extensions and in-country switching would be permitted for those already here, though the government emphasised that this would be “kept under review”.
Deep concerns
The paper was slammed almost immediately by care leaders, unions and, at the time of writing, by one of the country’s devolved parliaments.
Jane Townson, chief executive of the Homecare Association, described international recruitment as “a lifeline” for the homecare sector.
“Care providers are already struggling to recruit within the UK. We are deeply concerned the government has not properly considered what will happen to the millions of people who depend on care at home to live safely and independently,” she continued.
Describing it as “a crushing blow to an already fragile sector”, Care England’s Green pointed out that the sector has been “propping itself up” with dwindling resources, rising costs and mounting vacancies.
“International recruitment wasn’t a silver bullet, but it was a lifeline. Taking it away now, with no warning, no funding, and no alternative, is not just short-sighted – it’s cruel,” he said.
Their views were echoed by Christina McAnea, general secretary of the trade union UNISON.
“The NHS and the care sector would have collapsed long ago without the thousands of workers who’ve come to the UK from overseas,” she said.
“The social care sector has been in crisis for years. With so many thousands of workers short, it’s unable to provide care packages for all those needing support. That has a huge impact on the NHS too,” she said.
They were joined by Scotland’s equalities minister Kaukab Stewart who said that the plans on migration stand in stark contrast to Scotland’s values and do not reflect its distinct population needs.
“The Scottish government is proud to welcome and support people from around the world to live, work and build their lives in Scotland. Not only does migration enrich our communities and culture, it is vital for economic growth, public services like the NHS and addressing our population challenges,” he said.
Proper funding
Widespread cynicism about the government’s motives for publication of the report is backed up by the government itself which highlighted what it called significant levels of unmet care needs in the care sector in a report it published only two weeks ago, at the start of May.
The report estimates that the level of unmet care needs in the country affects two million people aged 65 and above, and potentially 1.5 million people of working age.
It cites the 2021 Census, which suggests that there are approximately 4.7 million unpaid carers in England which make up 9% of the population.
“Research by the Centre for Care and Carers UK valued contributions made by unpaid carers in the UK at £184.3 billion a year in 2021-22, an increase of £64.9 billion, or 54%, since 2011, and noted this was ‘equivalent to a second NHS’,” it said.
“The sector cannot take any more. We need proper funding, a real workforce plan, and immediate recognition that without care, the NHS, our communities, and countless families will fall apart,” concluded Care England’s Green.
