Labour unions and stakeholders in the United Kingdom’s care sector have come out strongly against the government’s move to stop the recruitment of foreign care workers, describing it as a reckless policy that could cripple the already struggling industry.
According to The Guardian UK, the UK government is set to publish a new immigration white paper on Monday, which includes plans to ban the recruitment of care workers from abroad.
This move is part of broader efforts by the government to cut down on legal migration and shift focus to local labour.
The announcement has drawn sharp criticism from unions and industry leaders, who argue that the care sector — already battling manpower shortages and funding challenges — heavily depends on foreign workers to function.
Reacting to the development, Professor Martin Green, CEO of Care England, lamented that the government’s decision amounts to “kicking the sector while it’s already down.”
For years now, we’ve been surviving on limited resources, rising operational costs, and serious staffing gaps,” Green said. “International recruitment may not have solved all the problems, but it provided a much-needed lifeline.
Taking that away now without offering any support or alternative is simply heartless.”
The UK’s largest trade union, Unison, also condemned the policy and demanded immediate clarification on the fate of foreign care workers already in the country.
Unison General Secretary, Christina McAnea, noted that the UK’s healthcare and social care systems would have collapsed without the input of migrant workers.
“Thousands of migrant health and care workers have kept things running. Now, they are left confused and anxious about their future. The government needs to assure them they’ll not be kicked out,” she stated.
McAnea also criticised the government for tagging care roles as “low-skilled”, insisting that the sector deserves better pay and recognition.
Figures show that in 2023 alone, over 58,000 foreign care workers entered the UK through the skilled worker visa route — accounting for nearly half of new entrants into the care workforce.
Meanwhile, the Labour government has defended the decision, describing it as part of a reset of the immigration system designed to reduce dependency on foreign labour and invest in British workers.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, speaking during a BBC interview, insisted that there are still untapped pools of labour within the UK.
“Employers should be looking to hire from those already in the UK, including people on existing visas who are yet to be deployed,” she said. “There’s also room to extend some visas, but we believe it’s time to draw the curtain on recruiting new care workers from abroad.”
The policy continues to stir debate across the UK, with fears that it could worsen the staffing crisis in the care sector and increase pressure on families already struggling to access quality care services.
