'Half-baked' immigration crackdown will put lives at risk, claims sector leader

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

- STEVE BAGNALL

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

The announcement by Home Secretary 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. The Welsh Government's Labour First Minister, Eluned Morgan, recently dodged questions about whether she backed the Prime Minister, 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 immigration, and stands by his words, Downing 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 matter of urgency at a meeting of the Five Nations group, which represents social care providers in Wales, England, 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.