Social care: Official advisers want immigration rules to be eased

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The government has been urged to make it easier for foreign care workers to come to the UK.

TheMAC said the sector was facing "severe and increasing" problems with hiring and retaining staff.

It suggested that employers be allowed to sponsor visas for workers on more than 20k a year.

The Home Office would carefully consider the recommendation.

The proposal was welcomed by several groups in the care sector, who have long argued that less stringent rules are needed to boost recruitment.

Skills for Care estimated last month that over a quarter of vacancies in the sector are unfilled.

The initial findings of the review were published by the MAC, which is conducting a study on the effects of the EU's decision to leave the bloc.

Social care workers from EU countries who wish to work in the UK must apply for a visa instead of being eligible to work on an automatic basis.

All social care workers should be able to apply under the UK's "shortage occupation list", which means they need less points and a lower salary to meet the criteria.

They said they should be able to apply for the special visa for health and social care workers.

Only senior roles with qualifications above a certain level are eligible for these routes.

The move was recommended by the MAC to help alleviate short-term recruitment problems.

It found that many issues predated the UK's exit and that under funding was the underlying cause of difficulties.

Care England and the Homecare Association welcomed the recommendation to widen access to the shortage occupation list.

A relaxation of immigration rules can't come soon enough according to Mike Padgham, chairman of the Independent Care Group.

The sector was already on its knees trying to cope with self-isolation caused by the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid.

Kevin Foster said the government's immigration system was delivering on the people's priorities of getting businesses to invest in the domestic workforce while attracting those with the skills we need.

He said that senior roles were already eligible for the easier visa routes, but businesses need to make long-term investments in the UK domestic workforce, including offering hard working care workers the rewarding packages they deserve.

Immigration.
Social care for the poor.
It's a topic of discussion.