The Cavendish Coalition has issued a position statement on how migration policy changes announced in December 2023 will drastically impact the current and future international social care workforce.
Expressing concerns about reduced workforce capacity, the exploitation of international carers and modern slavery in the social care sector and organisations using unethical practices, the Coalition called for government to commit to:
- Supporting integrated workforce planning for social care and health by fully funding and implementing the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan in England with regular reviews and by developing a plan for the social care workforce.
- Supporting the implementation and expansion of the health and care workforce pathway by ensuring a fully funded model that includes real wage increases to increase attraction to the sector from the domestic market as well as creating routes that support development, retention and skill mix.
- Restricting the provision of Certificates of Sponsorship to CQC-regulated organisations that have been registered for at least two years.
- Exploring the option of a new immigration route for social care workers that is regulated by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority.
- An in-depth assessment on the impacts of the new immigration rules to stop care workers and senior care workers from bringing their dependants to the UK on the recruitment and retention of the workforce within social care.
