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Government’s plan to reduce migration will cause deep concern across social care and health

Danny Mortimer responds to the government’s latest plan to reduce net migration.

4 December 2023

Responding to the government’s plan to reduce net migration, Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, which is part of the NHS Confederation, and chair of the Cavendish Coalition, said:

"The government’s announcements will cause deep concern across social care and health.  

"Whilst there is recognition that social care and health staff should be exempted from visa earning requirements applied to the wider economy, the move to prevent care workers bringing dependents will be met with real dismay.

"The Prime Minister and Home Secretary have at a stroke made the UK a less attractive place for much needed social care staff weighing up where they might choose to work.  

"Their actions make the job of caring the most vulnerable members of society that bit harder, and in doing so they again underestimate the value of good care services to the economy as a whole.

"The government must fully disclose its calculations on how these changes to visa rules will impact on recruitment levels in social care and any impact this will have on waiting times for social care and health."