Care England, the leading voice for adult social care providers
in England, is gravely concerned by new figures showing a 65%
drop in Health and Care Worker visa grants over the past year.
This stark decrease, with grants falling by 84% between April and
September 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, highlights
the devastating impact of immigration policy changes on the adult
social care workforce.
Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England,
said:
"Behind these numbers are real people; compassionate and
skilled individuals who want to care for others but are being
shut out. The decision to ban health and care workers from
bringing their partners and children to the UK last December was
short-sighted and profoundly damaging. It sent a message that
these workers are welcome only for their labour, not as whole
people with families and aspirations.
We are already battling a domestic workforce crisis, with
70,000 fewer British workers in the sector over the past two
years. The pipeline of international recruits was keeping
services afloat, but now even that lifeline is being cut off, and
care providers are left scrambling to fill shortages, unable to
deliver the amount of care they once could. How can we build a
compassionate system when the workers at its heart are treated
with such little regard?
We cannot solve the care crisis if we ask workers to leave
behind their loved ones to come here. Restoring the right to
bring dependants is not just the humane thing to do, it's
essential to attracting the workforce we desperately need. Let us
ensure that those who care for others can also care for their own
families."
The ban on bringing dependants, introduced late last year, has
created a two-tier system where NHS staff and other skilled
workers can bring their families, but care workers, who are
equally essential, are excluded. This disparity not only
undermines recruitment efforts but further devalues the vital
role of care workers.
Care England is urging the government to:
-
Restore the right for care workers to bring their
dependants to the UK, acknowledging their essential
role in society and treating them with the dignity and respect
they deserve.
-
Increase investment in the sector to enhance
pay, working conditions, and career opportunities for both
international and domestic care workers, creating an attractive
and sustainable workforce.
-
Establish a fully funded, long-term workforce plan for
adult social care, integrating these reforms and more
to secure the sector's future and meet the growing demand for
care.
"Care work is about connection and compassion. It's time the
government showed the same compassion to the people who make it
possible," Professor Green concluded.
