Homecare Association raises alarm over careworker visa crackdown

This morning, the government's Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, pledged to end care worker recruitment from abroad, ahead of the publication of a White Paper on immigration in the coming days.

The new measures include cutting the number of visas for lower-skilled workers by up to 50,000, ending the recruitment of care workers from abroad and ramping up standards on graduate visas.

Our media release

The Homecare Association warns new immigration restrictions could deepen social care workforce shortages, risking harm to older and disabled people across the UK.

We expect the government’s Immigration White Paper to introduce measures making it significantly harder to recruit careworkers from overseas. Employers will be required to prove they have trained domestic staff before turning to international recruitment. This is despite a 70,000 drop in British national careworkers since 2020/21 and no parallel workforce strategy or funding plan to address these challenges.

International recruitment has been vital in addressing the severe workforce shortages in homecare. Between 2021/22 and 2023/24, more than 185,000 international recruits joined adult social care, helping to stabilise a sector that continues to face over 130,000 vacancies and persistent recruitment challenges.

CEO of the Homecare Association, Dr Jane Townson OBE, commented:

“International recruitment is a lifeline for the homecare sector, enabling us to provide vital support to older and disabled people in their own homes. Care providers are already struggling to recruit within the UK. We are deeply concerned the Government has not properly considered what will happen to the millions of people who depend on care at home to live safely and independently.”

Changes to immigration processes and rules in 2023 led to a dramatic 70% fall in international recruitment in just one quarter. Without access to international talent, there is a real risk of extreme workforce shortages, threatening the ability of providers to meet the growing demand for homecare and undermining the quality and continuity of care for thousands of people across the UK.

The Migration Advisory Committee has repeatedly highlighted workforce challenges in social care stem from “persistent underfunding…by successive governments.” Although the government has promised a Fair Pay Agreement for careworkers, there is still no funding allocation and implementation remains a distant prospect.

The situation has worsened following recent increases in the National Living Wage and Employers National Insurance contributions, which have raised employment costs by 10%. Yet many local authorities, who purchase 79% of homecare services, have not increased the fees they pay for care enough, leaving providers unable to cover statutory employment costs.

“About a third of councils are offering fee rates that don’t even cover direct employment costs at the minimum wage. This leaves less than nothing to contribute to other running costs, which relate to meeting care regulatory requirements.” said Dr Townson. “Unethical commissioning creates the conditions for labour exploitation. This is unsustainable. Unless things change fast, providers will be forced to cut care, reduce quality, or shut services altogether.”

Meanwhile, demand for care is rising. Skills for Care estimates an additional 540,000 careworkers will be needed by 2040 to meet population needs. The question remains: where will these workers come from if neither the funding nor the migration route exists?

“These immigration measures are being introduced in a vacuum. The government says it is introducing a fair pay agreement but this is a long way off and there is no funding, no workforce strategy and no plan to deliver the care workers our country needs,” added Dr Townson.

“We urge the government to consult with the sector and agree interim measures allowing care providers to recruit sufficient staff. Otherwise, we risk repeating the chaos of 2021, when care shortages increased hospital admissions, delayed hospital discharges and left thousands without the help they needed.”

We recognise and agree with the need to ensure ethical recruitment and employment of sponsored overseas workers. The Homecare Association condemns all forms of labour exploitation and supports robust measures and enforcement to protect the rights and wellbeing of all homecare workers.

We urge the government to work collaboratively with the sector to ensure reforms to commissioning and funding accompany new immigration measures, so providers can offer secure, fairly paid employment and meet both workforce and ethical standards.

ENDS