'Half-baked, ill-thought through, an affront' - care forum chief slams stance on immigration

CARE homes will close and lives will be put at risk in North Wales as a result of the "half-baked" immigration crackdown, it has been claimed.

- By STEVE BAGNALL

That was the warning from sector champions Care Forum Wales (CFW) who say the plan to end the recruit ment of care staff from overseas will have a devastating impact on care homes and domiciliary care compa nies - with catastrophic consequenc es for the NHS.

The announcement by Home Sec retary Yvette Cooper came at a time when the sector was already reeling from increases in National Insurance contributions and wage rises, which amount to a 37 per cent hike in costs.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has also recently drawn criticism for claiming the UK might turn into an "island of strangers, without curbing immigration. Welsh Government Labour First Minister, Eluned Morgan, recently dodged questions about whether she backed the Prime Minis ter, saying she would not use "divisive language" following his remarks on migration.

Sir Keir Starmer "completely rejects" suggestions he echoed Enoch Powell during a major speech on immigra tion, and stands by his words, Down ing Street has said. The Prime Minister was arguing migrants make a massive contribution to the country, but migration needs to be controlled, No 10 said.

Now CFW raised the issue as a mat ter of urgency at a meeting of the Five Nations group, which represents social care providers in Wales, Eng land, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Eire, where the condemnation was unanimous.

Both organisations are writing to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Home Secretary urging them to reverse the overseas recruitment ban for social care.

Mario Kreft MBE, the chair of CFW, said: "It really is a half-baked, ill thought through idea that's ignored common sense for the sake of short term political expediency.

"Calling these social care heroes low-skilled is an affront. It's shocking because we're talking about some very special people who are highly skilled at caring.