The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has recommended the government makes immediate changes to the immigration system due to the post-Brexit impact on the adult social care sector.
In its annual report for the Home Office, the quango said care workers should be immediately eligible for the Health and Care Worker Visa and the occupation placed on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL).
This will allow employers to sponsor care workers subject to a minimum salary of £20,480 per year – equivalent to £10.10 per hour for a full-time worker.
“The MAC recognises that this is not a solution that will work for all employers in the sector. Many employers will not be registered as sponsors and the cost of the immigration route may be too high for some small and medium enterprises (SMEs),” it said.
MAC said the government could additionally consider ways of making the immigration system more accessible for adult social care SMEs.
This could include using the Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund to reduce the financial cost of recruitment through the immigration system.
“Short-term fixes are not always the solution for the UK economy, however, they can be important in ensuring sectors with urgent needs can access the staff they need quickly,” said MAC chairman Professor Brian Bell (pictured).
“We have outlined plans on how the government can change their approach to short-term visas and also propose changes to address some of the challenges facing the social care sector,” he added.
MAC said other adult social care occupations in direct care provision such as senior care workers, nurses and care home managers are already eligible to use the Health and Care Worker Visa, and so it does not think it is necessary to provide any interim recommendations for these occupations.
A review of the impact that ending freedom of movement has had on adult social care, which is due to be published in April 2022, will provide a full analysis of all the evidence for these occupations and consider how the immigration system works, or does not work, for them, it added.
Care England chief executive Martin Green said: “Care England has long called for care workers to be on the Shortage Occupation List and is therefore very pleased that the Migration Advisory Committee has put forward this very important recommendation to government.
"There is an acute workforce shortage in adult social care now so this recommendation cannot be enacted fast enough”.
