The UK’s points-based immigration system outlines that people applying to come to the UK as a skilled worker must reach 70 ‘points’ to be eligible for a work visa. A job on the Shortage Occupation List is worth 20 points, and when combined with the mandatory criteria (having an acceptable standard of English, an offer from a licensed sponsor and the required skill level, which are worth 50 points) will ensure these people reach the 70 points necessary.
The Minister for Future Borders and Immigration Kevin Foster said:
“Every year we welcome healthcare workers from across the world to our United Kingdom, with many having played a key role on the frontline of the NHS during the recent pandemic. This latest set of changes, combined with our Health and Care Visa, will ensure they can easily get the immigration status they deserve.”
Funding and staff shortages are a long running problem in social care, with the effects of COVID making it more prevalent. Last October Skills for Care reported that the average vacancy rate in England was 7.3% or 112,000 vacancies, with 84% of the workforce being British, 7% from the EU and 9% Non-EU.
In addition to the new immigration rules the £120 million DHSC Workforce Capacity fund was launched in January. It will help local authorities boost staffing for care providers where shortages arise.
These changes will be welcomed by most care providers; however, many will likely decry the fact that the core issue of the care sector’s woes, especially concerning recruitment, lies in the years of underfunding of social care services and the resultant inability for many providers to pay competitive wages.
At last year’s Access All Areas event in October, Steve Sawyer, Managing Director, Access Health & Social Care, presented findings from an analysis of aggregated, anonymised data that had been accumulated through actual home care delivery in the UK.
One area Steve explored was the relationship between the rates paid to care providers by care funders and corresponding pay rates for carers, likelihood of being CQC Outstanding, staff retention levels and more. View last year’s benchmarking webinar here.
Access All Areas 2021 is now available to watch online too, with sessions including:
- Legal Guidance: Whistleblowing in Care
- How Internet of Things (IOT) can help work with care software
- How has COVID-19 accelerated digitisation in care with Digital Social Care and what have we learned?
