Social care is facing a ‘catastrophe’ because of the government’s decision to scrap visas for migrant carers with unions claiming the sector was not consulted about the decision.
Unions representing care workers made clear their anger to Department of Health officials in a meeting on Monday, following the publication of the immigration white paper, The i Paper understands.
And care home workers warned that the changes could force some care homes to go bust.
Under the plans by the Home Office, the care worker visa route will be scrapped altogether, leaving a shortfall of around 7,000 workers who normally apply for this status, official government figures revealed.
But civil servants were forced to apologise to representatives of care workers during the meeting that they had not been briefed earlier, The i Paper has been told.
There was also consternation that the white paper implies that care workers are not skilled, because under the reforms they are not eligible for the enhanced skilled worker visa route.
The i Paper reported last week that Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was considering a clampdown over fears the route was being exploited by unscrupulous employers who abuse their staff, or agencies who failed to find a job for migrants.
One union warned DHSC officials the plans could be a “catastrophe” for the social care sector, which is already facing vacancies of 130,000, while another described it as a “crushing blow”.
Those in the care sector warned that care homes would be unable to recruit enough staff and faced closure.
Last year, 71,046 work visas were granted to foreign care workers and home carers, with India, Nigeria and Zimbabwe making up more than half the total.
Stella Shaw, who runs the Stella Care home care agency in Cheshire, says 80 per cent of her staff have come to the UK on skilled worker visas.
“They have thrown a grenade in the room, and it’s left us all even in even more doubt with regards to how we’re going to survive,” she told The i Paper.
“I’m really at a loss at the future and what it looks like for care and for people that need care in our communities.”
Skills for Care estimates 540,000 more social care staff will be needed by 2040 to meet rising demands from an ageing population and increased demand.
‘We’re going to go backwards’
“We have high vacancies and high turnover through domestic recruitment,” said Ms Shaw.
“International recruitment has allowed us to start filling some of that void, and now that they’ve removed that, we’re going to go backwards.”
Mike Padgham, chair of the Independent Care Group which support providers in Yorkshire, said the Government’s ban was “another crushing blow”.
“I can’t see what solutions the Government’s got other than recruiting more people from this country. But it’s not as though we haven’t tried in the past,” he said.
“I think care homes and home care providers will find it’s difficult to staff and we might see some providers fail.”
Dr Jane Townson, from the Homecare Association, said: “The visa crackdown ignores the severe shortage of domestic candidates despite our preference to hire locally – which would be more cost-effective and straightforward.
“We turned to international recruitment out of necessity, not choice. Our overseas staff bring exceptional compassion and professionalism to their roles.
“The notion that benefit claimants can be quickly converted into care workers fundamentally misunderstands the dedication and expertise this vital work demands.”
However government sources pointed out that the white paper includes a three-year transition period for social care visas.
Ministers are also putting forward new laws to introduce a fair pay agreement in social care to improve pay and conditions for care workers, as well as offering care workers career progression routes and the opportunity to take on NHS tasks, such as blood pressure checks and changing dressings.
Unions at the meeting representing care workers included the Royal College of Nursing, Unison, GMB as well as the TUC.
Will Dalton, GMB national officer, said: “Scrapping this visa will be deeply damaging – potentially catastrophic for our beleaguered care system.
“The whole sector is utterly reliant on migrant workers.”
He added “there is absolutely no chance” plans for a fair pay agreement would be made “in time to fill the void these new visa restrictions will create”
The RCN’s executive director for England, Patricia Marquis, told Times Radio: “This really is a crushing blow both to the NHS but also to the social care sector who rely massively on migrant care workers to deliver what of course is really really crucial to lots of vulnerable people.”
Vic Rayner, chief executive of the National Care Forum, said: “This policy overlooks the current levels of unmet care and support needed.”
And director of policy and strategy, NHS Providers, Isabel Lawicka, said successive government’s had failed to address the staffing crisis.
“Currently we are paying a very high price for successive governments’ failure to properly address social care reform, including putting the workforce on a sustainable footing,” she said.
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Read MoreA Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We recognise the scale of reform needed to make adult social care attractive as a career: we want it to be regarded as a profession, and for the people who work in care to be respected as professionals.
“That is why we are introducing a new Fair Pay Agreement and implementing the first universal career structure, giving care workers better pay, conditions, and new opportunities to progress in their career.”
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