“Services at Risk” as Government Unveils Immigration White Paper

Measures unveiled in the governments immigration white paper published yesterday (Monday 12 May) will place requirements on employers to boost domestic training and seeks to end the reliance on international recruitment that saw net migration quadruple between 2019 and 2023.

The long-awaited immigration white paper includes measures to ban new recruitment from abroad for care roles, as part of a wider effort to reduce legal migration and prioritise UK-based workers and has drawn fierce criticism from sector leaders.

The government will end overseas recruitment for social care visas. In line with our wider reforms to skills thresholds, they will close social care visas to new applications from abroad.

For a transition period until 2028, while the workforce strategy is being developed and rolled out visa extensions will be permitted and in-country switching for those already here, however this will be kept under review.

Key policies in the 82-page blueprint, titled Restoring Control over the Immigration System, include the following:

• reversing the long-term trend of increasing international recruitment at the expense of skills and training
• the labour market evidence group will be established, drawing on the best data available in order to make informed decisions about the state of the labour market and the role that different policies should play, rather than always relying on migration
• departments across government will engage sector bodies as part of this approach

The sector has criticised the policy saying it will heap further pressure on providers,  Vic Rayner, CEO of NCF said: “The plans set out in the immigration white paper published today will do little to reassure people drawing on care and support, let alone care workers and employers, that social care is a priority for this government right now. Government has a responsibility to step up to its immigration policy decision making and realise the need for urgent workforce planning and immediate improvements to care worker pay, terms and conditions to cover the shortfall that will be caused by these proposals rather than relying on references to a Fair Pay Agreement which is unlikely to come into effect for a number of years.”

“This policy is shortsighted in that it overlooks the current levels of unmet care and support need. Additionally, government seems to be ignoring recommendations made by its own Migration Advisory Committee which has called repeatedly in recent years for immediate improvements to care worker pay and workforce planning by the state to bolster the domestic workforce.”

Sam Monaghan, Chief Executive of Methodist Homes (MHA), the country’s largest charitable care provider, said:  “Once again, the Government fails to recognise the skilled nature of care work and the vital role overseas recruitment plays in ensuring continuity of care for thousands of older people.”

“While MHA prioritises local recruitment, shortages in some regions have made this challenging, historically forcing reliance on costly agency staff. Overseas workers have provided consistency for residents and helped reduce our reliance on expensive agency fees. Not allowing us to recruit overseas workers risks us having to restrict the number of people we can care for, our costs increasing and uncertainty for those who already work for us.

“The proposed Fair Pay agreement is a positive step towards supporting ‘domestic’ recruitment but it risks arriving too late. Fair Pay also needs fully funding by the Government as, without it, it will place even more strain on a sector already struggling with low investment.”

“With Skills for Care projecting a need for 540,000 additional care workers by 2040, current recruitment struggles are a warning sign of deeper issues ahead.”

Professor Martin Green OBE commented: “Cutting off international recruitment before a domestic solution is in place puts the cart well before the horse. The Fair Pay Agreement and the Employment Rights Bill, as outlined by Government, are years away from implementation and remain underfunded and undefined. They cannot replace what is being taken away now.”

“Let’s be clear – this decision is not a solution. It is a political gesture that treats the symptoms but ignores the disease. Rather than investing in the sector and solving the recruitment crisis, the Government is closing the door on one of the only workforce pipelines still functioning. Social care is not low-skilled work. It is high-skill, low-pay work that deserves respect, proper recognition, and meaningful investment.”