The ongoing health and social care staffing crisis is to be exacerbated by new Government immigration reforms. A recent white paper outlined new restrictions on immigration into the UK, including closing social care visas for new foreign applicants. The social care visa was expanded in 2022, with the paper claiming that this resulted in a 192% increase of migrants coming to work ‘below degree-level jobs’ within a year. However, health and social care organisations expressed concern that closing the visa will hinder the level and quality of social care being provided across the country.
‘International workers play a crucial role in delivering these important services across the country,’ said Danny Mortimer, Co-chair of the Cavendish Coalition and Chief Executive of NHS Employers. ‘The Cavendish Coalition of social care and health organisations would therefore urge caution and patience in any changes so that we can all work together to ensure that the social care sector is in as strong a place as possible for the longer term.’
- NHS staff report poor mental health due to increasing pressures and low support
- New immigration rules and delayed pay could impact nursing workforce
- Calls to end migrant maternity charge over safety fears
Nursing staff are also expected to leave their positions in the UK at a faster rate. In the report ‘Unreciprocated Care: why internationally educated nursing staff are leaving the UK,’ the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) found that amidst the current nursing staff crisis, just under half of migrant nursing, care and support staff were planning on leaving their positions in the UK in favour of other countries. Of this population, 40% claimed that their reason for leaving was due to immigration policy.
‘Our report shows thousands of migrant nursing staff are ready to leave the UK. This situation is bad enough, but now the Government’s cruel measures could accelerate this exodus, doing great damage to key services,’ said RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger. ‘Rather than pandering and scapegoating, ministers should focus on what patients and vulnerable people need – safely staffed services. Without the measures we’re calling for, our amazing colleagues from overseas will continue to leave.’
The new policies could also put current migrant workers at risk of abuse. The closure of the social care visa route involves a transition period until 2028 for migrants already in the UK, resulting in concerns of abuse and exploitation. However, Prime Minister Keir Starmer claimed that the new reforms would prevent exploitation by deterring businesses from hiring migrant workers at lower pay, rather than training staff in the UK.
‘When you have an immigration system that seems almost designed to permit abuse, that encourages some businesses to bring in lower-paid workers rather than invest in our young people, or simply one that is sold by politicians to the British people on an entirely false premise,’ said Starmer. ‘Then you’re not championing growth, you’re not championing justice, or however else people defend the status quo. You’re actually contributing to the forces that are slowly pulling our country apart.’