Existing care workers could be exempt from UK’s tough new immigration rules | Social care

Hundreds of thousands of care workers could be exempt from the home secretary’s plans to strengthen the immigration system under proposals considered by Andy Burnham, who is looking for ways to ease pressure on the social care sector.

The Prime Minister will give a speech next week announcing his determination to start creating the National Care Service before the next general election, in a bid to accelerate the process started by his predecessor Keir Starmer.

In a deeply personal speech, Burnham will describe her experience of the care system through her father Roy, who has Alzheimer’s, and announce the highlight of Louise Casey’s review of the sector, which is due to conclude in 2028.

He is now also considering granting broad exemptions to Shabana Mahmood’s plans to make it harder for people to achieve settled status in the UK.

The measure is unlikely to be included in next week’s speech, but could come later in the year after the Home Office considers responses to public consultation on the issue.

One person briefed on the plans said: “Andy is determined to do something quickly about the social care system. This is deeply personal to him and he will explain why he wants to get some of it in place before the election, even if it comes at a political cost.”

Burnham put reform of the social care system at the top of her list of priorities, having tried and failed to do this as health secretary more than 15 years ago.

HE he told the publishers this week: “I think it’s about being prepared to grasp the nettle. I have personal experience of the system. My father has Alzheimer’s and you see what the staff have to endure. It’s not their fault. The system is broken.”

He added: “You can’t abandon social care like that. That’s part of my criticism of Westminster. It’s avoided these big decisions over the years.”

The Prime Minister had previously advocated for inheritance tax to be introduced at a rate of 10 per cent on all estates to pay directly into the universal care system when a person dies, but these proposals were dropped after the Conservatives labeled them a “death tax”.

People in England receive subsidized care if their assets are less than £23,250, but those with more must pay the full cost themselves.

Social care providers, meanwhile, say they are struggling financially and are increasingly unable to provide the services they have contracted for because the value of their contracts with local authorities is low.

Many have complained bitterly about the potential impact of Mahmood’s plans to double the time it takes for migrant workers to qualify for settled status, known as indefinite leave to remain, which could disproportionately affect the care sector.

Andrea Egan, general secretary of Unison, the country’s largest union, said: “Unless ministers focus on recruitment and retention, vulnerable people and those with complex needs will not get the help they deserve. This means abandoning plans to push migrant care workers out of the UK.”

Mahmood said he would consider exemptions to the new ILR (indefinite leave to remain) rules, but said exemptions to social care visas would create a significant reduction in the numbers affected.

Home Office gave Nearly 200,000 health and care worker visas have been granted in the last five years, with many more arriving as their dependents.

Burnham is understood to be considering exempting those already in the country from the changes, but allowing them to apply to new entrants.

While the changes are unlikely to feature in his speech next week, he is prepared to lay out some short-term fixes to ease the burden on the industry.

These could include putting more money into the £9bn Better Care Fund, a ring-fenced fund designed to be used to boost social care to ease pressure on the NHS.

One option he appears to be considering is increasing funding to offer free short-term care to prevent patients from re-entering acute care after leaving hospital.

The Prime Minister will also leave the door open to extra taxation to pay for a new system in the long term, saying funding options should be considered as part of Lady Casey’s review.

Casey was appointed by former health secretary Wes Streeting to publish an interim report this year and a final report in 2028, but those close to the process say he may now fast-track his final report.

Burnham told the Guardian last month he wanted the review to be published by the end of the year, but industry experts said this was likely to be overambitious.

Casey said the UK was facing a “moment of reckoning” over its long-standing failure to match the demands of growing numbers of frail older and disabled adults with sufficient resources and action.

He slammed the way people with dementia or Alzheimer’s have been harmed by institutional fights over whether a person is entitled to free NHS care or means-tested and charged for social care, and smoothing fault lines between services is expected to be a key focus of the review.

Casey will launch a public consultation within the next two weeks, calling for a “challenging conversation” with the public this summer.

Sources said it wanted to answer a range of questions, including who should qualify for social care, how much care families should provide for loved ones and how much individuals should pay for care.