This is a make-or-break moment for the Labour Government, who must address the critical skills shortage in the care sector by revising the immigration policies introduced by its predecessor, argues Carolyn Bowie, Glasgow-based immigration solicitor at national law firm Weightmans.
Much of the rhetoric coming from Westminster since the election has been around the need to “reverse the decline” inflicted by the previous government. Headline conservative policies like the Rwanda scheme, the new hospitals programme, and a £40 million contract for government helicopters have all been scrapped, being labelled as wasteful and ineffective.
It is surprising therefore that other controversial Conservative policies, including much of its legislative reform around overseas workers, appear to have avoided the chopping block – particularly so considering the acute talent shortages faced by key sectors such as care.
In the 12 months to August 2024, a period in which overseas care workers were banned from bringing dependants to the UK, applications for health and social care visas have fallen more than 80% according to ONS figures.
Some will argue the policy is doing what it promised in deterring people from coming to the UK. But, for the care sector, where one in four workers are foreign,[1] this is not a success story. It is a talent crisis.
Leaders in the sector have openly expressed their dissatisfaction with the tightening of immigration policies. UNISON’s head of care Gavin Edwards recently warned that the situation for a sector that relies on overseas workers will soon become catastrophic without Government intervention.
Exacerbating matters are requirements introduced in late 2023 for any employer sponsoring overseas care workers and senior care workers to register with the Care Quality Commission. Registration is often long and resource-intensive, further delaying the process of employing someone from overseas, and putting off some care businesses from attempting it at all.
The previous government also increased the minimum salary requirement to sponsor a skilled worker visa application to £38,700 a year this April. There are reductions for roles in certain care occupations, but the requirement is still higher than the average salaries for many of the roles care facilities need to recruit for.
The common thread running through these reforms, aside from the dire impact on care staffing levels, is that they are all products of the previous government. The new administration is still only a few months into its tenure and, consequently, has a golden opportunity to achieve two aims at one time. It has a chance to disassociate itself from these controversial policies, if it wants to, and address the recruitment crisis in care at the same time.
But Starmer has a finite window in which to do so before ‘Conservative policy’ simply starts looking like ‘government policy’ in the eyes of the electorate.
Politics aside, there isn’t a moment to lose for the care industry either. The sector has over 100,000 vacancies and almost half a million people on waiting lists for care homes[2]. This is an emergency that cannot be solved through a long-term plan to “train up our homegrown workforce and address the shortage of skills”, as a home office spokesperson stated recently.
Skills for Care, the planning body for adult social care in England, has echoed this long-term view with its new workforce strategy – a 15-year plan to address skills shortages in the sector.
This is an admirable long-term vision – a more sustainable domestic talent pool is something we should welcome. But it does not present a realistic plan for tackling the recruitment crisis in care right now. The only way to do that is to relax immigration rules for skilled care workers and allow care homes to access the international talent pool.
A new government, particularly the first in 14 years, is a rare and opportune moment to reset the political discourse in our country – a discourse that has become more divided, and more inward-looking.
Labour has the chance to create a more positive dialogue around immigration. One that acknowledges the benefits of being part of a global skills market, while highlighting the differences in legal and illegal migration and constructively discussing the need for a more robust homegrown talent pool.
This applies to many sectors, but perhaps nowhere more acutely than care.
Image depicts, Carolyn Bowie, Glasgow-based immigration solicitor at national law firm Weightmans.