Sadiq Khan slams Boris Johnson for 'pulling up drawbridge' on social care workers with Brexit immigration rules

Healhcare chiefs and charities have rounded on the new points-based immigration system which excludes social care staff
Sadiq Khan warned the move could damage London's economic recovery from the virus
PA
Ewan Somerville13 July 2020

Sadiq Khan has accused Boris Johnson of “pulling up the drawbridge” with post-Brexit immigration rules that could bar social care staff from moving to the UK.

The Mayor of London hit out at ministers after details of a new health and care visa were announced on Monday. The measures wil allow key health professionals to work in the UK post-Brexit, but exclude social care staff.

The new points-based immigration system is designed to cut the number of low-skilled migrants entering Britain when the Brexit transition period ends January 2021.

But healthcare chiefs, charities and unions have rounded on the plans for leaving out lowly-paid NHS cleaners, porters and support staff, who have been on the front line of Britain's coronavirus crisis.

Mr Khan said he had serious concerns that the new rules could damage the capital’s economic recovery, causing difficulties for sectors including social care.

Social care staff have been on the front line of the coronavirus crisis
PA

“Undermining these sectors will make it even harder to look after our elderly relatives and resolve the ongoing pressures within our NHS and social care system,” he said.

“Instead of recognising the hugely positive impact that immigration has had on London and the UK’s economy and communities, the Government is pulling up the drawbridge to much of the talent we continue to need as a city and a country.”

Experts at Oxford University’s Migration Observatory warned that “critically, only a relatively narrow range of skilled professionals are actually eligible” under the new system “and it does not cover a very large share of care workers”.

People who want to live and work in the UK will need to gain 70 points to be eligible to apply for a visa.

Boris Johnson is under pressure to include social care staff in the new rules
PA

Points will be awarded for key requirements such as being able to speak English to a certain level, having a job offer from an approved employer, and meeting a minimum salary threshold.

Royal College of Nursing chief executive Dame Donna Kinnair said the NHS and social care should not be viewed as separate services.

She said: “Once again, we are disappointed to see the Government’s plans for the UK’s future immigration system falling short of what is required to meet the workforce needs of the health and social care sectors, now and in the future.

“The Government is ignoring our concern that we need an appropriate immigration route for social care workers. Arbitrary salary thresholds will prevent key workers from working in the UK, which will directly impact patient care.”

Chief executive of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) Satbir Singh said: “The very same people who’ve risked their lives to keep our country going would have no safe route of entry to the UK.

“We’ve gone from clapping for our key workers to calling them low-skilled in a few short weeks.”

Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, said it was another example of the way the Government “treats social care staff as second class citizens”.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said “immigration is not the sole answer” and that councils have been given an additional £1.5 billion of funding for social care in 2021/22, and a new recruitment campaign has been launched.

Existing European Union workers in the care sector could apply to stay in the UK through the settlement scheme “and a very large number have done so”, he added.

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