Watch my reaction to the government's decision to scrap visa routes for care workers
- May 13, 2025
- 1 min read
“We are both baffled and deeply concerned by the government’s decision to revoke the visa route for social care workers. It is harrowing to witness such a critical sector continuously overlooked – and now deal yet another decisive blow.”
That was how the COO and Founder of Totnes-based CareYourWay Franchising reacted to the government’s new immigration rules – and he wasn’t the only one to express concern.
Alarm bells rang across the care industry over how these proposals will impact a sector where foreign workers are essential to keep basic services running.
Scrapping this visa route is one thing. But to do so while also promising to establish a fast-track settlement process for engineers and AI experts because they “genuinely contribute to society” is a real kick in the teeth for a care sector, which, with an aging population, is becoming more important than ever.
If the government is to go ahead with these plans, it must do so in conjunction with a strategy to address the chronic recruitment and retainment challenges the care sector faces.
The Liberal Democrats have long called for a Carer’s Minimum Wage to make it easier to recruit British workers to fill vacancies in the care sector.
Implementing this must be part of the government’s plans – or else I’m worried we’ll end up with massive care worker shortages and no credible plan to fill them.
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