Labour accuses Conservatives of ‘rank hypocrisy’ towards 180,000 NHS and care workers

Monday, 18 May 2020 08:11

Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, Nick Thomas-Symonds, has written to the Home Secretary labelling the Government’s plan to rush through immigration legislation an insult to NHS staff and care workers, and a danger to our National Health Service. Nick Thomas-Symonds said: “It is rank hypocrisy towards our NHS and care workers – over 180,000 in England and Wales alone – to stand and clap for them on a Thursday night, and then tell them that they...Request free trial

Nick Thomas-Symonds said:

“It is rank hypocrisy towards our NHS and care workers – over 180,000 in England and Wales alone – to stand and clap for them on a Thursday night, and then tell them that they are not welcome in the UK on a Monday.

“The Home Secretary has been invisible throughout this crisis – and now her first major intervention is a Bill that will make workers in the NHS and the care sector feel unwelcome in this country, as well as labelling retail workers, carers, local government workers, refuse collectors, and many more as 'low skilled' – the very same workers who have been keeping this country running throughout the crisis.

“This Bill creates a threat to our national interest. It risks the NHS not being able to fill the desperately needed roles for trained nurses and care home workers at the very moment when we rely on the NHS most.”

Ends

Notes

184,000 is a new figure, arrived at through:

66,000 NHS staff in England (Source: Parliamentary question https://www.parliament.uk/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/commons/2020-01-23/7098)
115,000 EU nationality non-British in the care sector in England: (Source: Skills for Care, England only https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/adult-social-care-workforce-data/Workforce-intelligence/publications/Topics/Workforce-nationality.aspx)
In Wales, it is estimated that at least 1,462 EU nationals are directly employed by the Welsh NHS (1.6% of workforce) https://www.wales.nhs.uk/sitesplus/documents/888/PHW%5FImplications%5Fof%5FBrexit%5FTechRep%5FPart%5F2.pdf
An estimated 6.4% of staff employed by registered social care settings in Wales are non-UK EU nationals. Welsh Government figures suggest there are approximately 45,450 people working within registered social care settings in Wales, and therefore, 6.4% equates to around 2,900 workers: https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/statistics-and-research/2019-03/implications-brexit-social-care-and-childcare-workforce.pdf