The Home Office’s Migration Advisory Committee - yes, your government, today said that care home fees will increase swiftly under new plans to cut work visas for low wage migrants.
The running costs of care homes are expected to rise as government advisers said that relying on low paid immigrants is not a sensible long term policy.
The landmark statement – which contrasts sharply with Labour’s dependence on overseas doctors and nurses – came from the Home Office’s Migration Advisory Committee (MAC).
The MAC announced plans to cut the quantity of so-called ‘shortage occupation’ jobs accessible to non-EU migrants by around 30 per cent, to 700,000. The number of migrants functioning here will only decrease by an estimated 20,000.
The UK has 21,000 care homes. Most are reliant on migrant workers, with the Philippines alone claiming to supply 25,000 staff. Many obtain the bare minimum wage, with even senior care workers paid less than £7 per hour.
Within the new boundaries, only trained care workers earning at least £8.80 an hour will be permitted to come to Britain – a salary level most care-home owners say they will not be able to pay.
Possible closures are warned or significant increases in fees. English Community Care Association chief executive Martin Green called the MAC’s plan ‘unrealistic and unworkable’. He added: ‘The MAC have failed to understand that the care-home sector is largely publicly-funded and the funding received is simply not enough to pay £8.80 per hour in the majority of cases.’
The MAC’s published report said it was likely that, by restricting migrant labour, the cost of supplying public services would ‘increase’. ‘Although we recognise that many public budgets may be fixed in the short term, in the longer run it would not be sensible to supply these important services on the basis of low-paid immigrant labour.’
Planning for your care homes and protecting as much of your assets is now even more important. Seek out a professional to talk though your worries and to help start your planning.
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