Nuffield Trust responds to NAO report on skilled worker visas

Responding to the NAO report on skilled worker visas, Nuffield Trust Researcher Cyril Lobont said:

“This report makes clear that sudden immigration policy changes have happened without proper coordination across government, and with little regard for their impact on essential care services which are struggling to recruit enough staff domestically. Such changes can be implemented at speed, but the problems they create then take years to fix.

“The social care sector remains hugely reliant on skilled overseas workers to deliver care and support to the people who need it, and we need to retain a route for them to come to the UK. At the same time, we know from our research that more must be done to make careers in social care more attractive domestically.[1]

“Findings of "widespread evidence" of exploitation and underpayment of wages in the care sector are sadly not surprising. This highlights how important it is that the government gets their new Fair Work Agency [2] set up right to robustly stamp this out.

“The NAO report is more evidence that there's a need for a clear workforce strategy for the social care sector as the current piecemeal approach just isn't coherent. We already have high vacancies, and projections suggest far more people will need to start working in the sector to meet growing care needs. Plans to build a stable workforce will have to include both a domestic and overseas pipeline, and the government should place evidence front-and-centre when making these critical decisions.”