Yahoo Finance Rishi Sunak’s visa crackdown will trigger a ‘care crisis’
Rishi Sunak’s visa crackdown aimed at curbing immigration will spark a care crisis and push up fees, Britain’s care home boss has said.
Martin Green OBE, chief executive of the charity Care England, which represents care providers, said a ban on care workers bringing over dependents will severely deplete staffing numbers in the already stretched sector.
He said the shortage would push care fees to unsustainable levels, as figures suggest the Government’s visa crackdown is already acting as a disincentive.
Applications for skilled health and care worker visas fell 62pc from December to March, after the Government announced a ban on applications bringing dependents with them.
Fewer than 2,500 health and care workers a month are now submitting applications to come to the UK, down from more than 18,000.
The number of visas granted in the fourth quarter of 2023 for care workers and home carers was down 41pc, while the number for senior care workers fell by the same amount compared to the previous three months, according to government data.
While care workers themselves are not banned from entry, they are now unable to bring dependent family members with them.
Overseas care workers make up around a fifth of the sector workforce.
Mr Green said: “The drop is in response to the ban on dependents, it is a result of those policy changes.
“It will definitely put up costs, but one of the bigger challenges is that even when costs are increased, there just won’t be the workers to deliver the care.
Nina Hemmings of the Nuffield Trust think tank said: “One part of the reason we are witnessing a steep drop in applications is that overseas care workers can no longer bring dependents. Because it is predominantly women who apply for these roles, who bring their partners and children with them, it is having a big impact.
“Despite this, evidence suggests there is still an appetite among overseas workers to come and work here. So, another reason for the drop in applications is that the criteria care providers have to jump through to become licensed sponsors have become quite onerous.”
The move adds the risk of further care costs for patients at a time when the price of these services is already on the rise. The average annual cost of a care home rose 9.6pc to £41,600 in 2023, according to healthcare data provider LaingBuisson.
Boris Johnson introduced a plan to cap lifetime personal care costs at £86,000 in 2021. However, it has not yet been introduced and care fees remain uncapped.
There are also fears lack of staffing in care homes could put extra pressure on the National Health Service. There are around 1.52 million people working in the adult social care sector in England, more than in the NHS.
Across all adult social care settings the average turnover rate for workers in England is 29.9pc, according to consultancy Skills for Care.
It comes after Lord Cameron warned Rishi Sunak’s separate crackdown on student visas could destabilise the finances of British universities, risking job losses and even closures. As of January, students on visas are no longer allowed to bring family members with them, which has had a larger than expected impact on student visa applications.
The Prime Minister wants to further curb the availability of student visas and change the rules that allow students to stay two years after they finish studying.
A Government spokesman said: “We are already delivering on our promise to cut net migration, which will ultimately stop burdening public services and reduce the unsustainable numbers of care worker dependents.
“Immigration is not the long-term answer to our social care needs, which is why we introduced reforms to restrict care workers bringing dependents with them. Taken together, our package to reduce net migration will ultimately mean around 300,000 people arriving in the UK last year would no longer be able to.”
