Ban on foreign care staff will 'decimate sector'

Crisis...more vital carers are needed

- Giles Sheldrick

A PROPOSED ban on foreign recruitment could be the final straw for social care and “decimate” the sector, campaigners have warned.

There are now 131,000 vacancies in social care and, by 2040, at least 540,000 extra staff will be needed, it was said.

Industry experts claimed the decades-long crisis has now become a national emergency after Labour vowed to ban the recruitment of overseas carers.

There are also plans to tighten access to skilled worker visas and raise costs for employers in an effort to curb near-record net migration.

Traditionally, overseas recruitment has helped plug huge gaps in the overall care workforce.

Mike Padgham, the Independent Care Group chair, said: "I think the Government has got it badly wrong. We do try to recruit staff from this country, but we simply haven't been able to get the numbers we need.