NEWS
Policy and politics
Government proposals to change immigration rules post-Brexit could “devastate” the health and social care sector, industry leaders have warned. Under the new plans, immigrants would have to reach 70 points to be able to work in the UK, with points also being awarded for qualifications, the ability to speak English, the salary on offer and working in a sector with shortages. Those who wish to work in the UK will have to have the offer of a skilled job with an ‘approved sponsor’, for which they would be awarded 50 points. All applicants will be required to earn a minimum salary of £25,600. Home secretary Priti Patel has said the new system is about bringing “the brightest and the best” to the UK. However, Labour shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott has said the low employment salary threshold “will make it very difficult to recruit people like social care workers”. She added that without social care workers from the EU “social care in London and the other big cities will collapse”. Skilled migrants from outside the EU currently need to have a job offer with a minimum salary of £30,000, however a Tier 2 (general) visa with a lower salary threshold is an option, if the applicant is on the Shortage Occupation List, which includes nurses. Despite this possibility, social care workers living outside the EU in particular are often unable to meet the current minimum salary threshold. Foreign workers currently make up a sixth of the 840,000-strong care worker workforce in England. If this new points system goes ahead, as it is expected to from 1 January 2021, social care workers outside the UK would further struggle to meet the new criteria, which could have a further negative impact on an already struggling
HealthInvestor UK • April 2020
members.parliament.uk (CC BY 3.0)
Government’s immigration plans ‘a devastating blow’
Priti Patel
social care sector, according to industry bodies. The Independent Care Group’s chair, Mike Padgham commented: “This [points system] would be a devastating blow for social care and would lead to hundreds of thousands more people not getting the care they need. The truth is that we already have 1.5 million people living without the care they need – a number that is growing every day. We need more care staff now and we are going to need many thousands more to care for an ageing population in the future. If the government prevents the sector from recruiting from overseas, then where are these extra staff going to come from? “This will heap further pressure on an already crumbling social care sector which will in turn pile more pressure on NHS healthcare, which will have to pick up the pieces when less and less social care is available. It defies belief and increases the urgency for the government to tackle social care, starting with measures to support care in the budget.” Martin Green of Care England, said: “The approach being taken by the Government to migration post-Brexit, will put significant
pressures on the social care system. If we are going to compete with other employers, we will expect our biggest customer, HM Government to pay significantly increased amounts for care services, so that we can give the salaries and benefits that our staff so richly deserve.” Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, commented: “If care homes close their doors or home care services are reduced because they don’t have the right numbers of staff to deliver the care needed, people and their families will suffer even greater problems accessing vital services and support.” Donna Kinnair, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College Nursing, said: “We are concerned that these proposals from the government will not meet the health and care needs of the population. They close the door to lower-paid healthcare support workers and care assistants from overseas, who currently fill significant numbers of posts in the health and care workforce. She added: “While recruitment of overseas staff shouldn’t be used as a replacement for domestic workforce supply, it’s clear that it will need to continue in the short
to medium-term so that health and social care services in the UK can continue to function. We are clear that maintaining arbitrary salary thresholds will not enable health and social care services in the UK to recruit and retain the number of staff needed to meet the needs of the UK’s population.” Unison assistant general secretary, Christina McAnea, commented: “Suddenly ending this desperately needed supply of labour will cause huge problems across the country. The government simply has to think again. “Ministers must make specific allowances for social care, or the elderly and the vulnerable could soon find themselves without support. “The government needs to get to grips with social care urgently. It must fund care properly, with increased wages and training to make care an attractive career for UK residents and migrant workers alike.” Rhidian Hughes, chief executive of The Voluntary Organisations Disability Group, said: “These hugely concerning proposals by the government will only exacerbate workforce shortages in social care. Employers are already struggling to recruit and retain staff due to chronic underfunding in the sector. Central government now needs to significantly strengthen investment in the sector. Without that investment we should be in no doubt that in some geographical areas where organisations are struggling to secure staff, these proposals will signal the end of essential social care services.” Women’s Equality UK has tweeted: “This points system will disproportionately affect women migrants and leave a social care gap which women will be expected to fill with unpaid caring. It’s time care work was paid and appreciated in line with its invaluable contribution to society.”
13
