No plans to remove care workers from shortage occupation list, Downing Street says
The Government has no plans to remove care workers from the shortage occupation list to cut immigration despite calls from Tory MPs, Downing Street said.
No 10 also downplayed the prospect of blocking foreign university students from staying in the UK after graduation – another recommendation made by the New Conservatives group.
The 25-strong caucus of right-wing Tory MPs from the 2017 and 2019 intake are calling on ministers to close temporary visa schemes for care workers and cap the number of refugees resettling in the UK at 20,000.
Among those backing the recommendations is Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson and backbencher Miriam Cates.
On Monday, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman refused to say whether Rishi Sunak was frustrated by Mr Anderson’s support of tougher migration rules but acknowledged there were “different views on each side”.
Asked whether care workers could be removed from the shortage occupation list, the official replied: “That’s not an approach we’re considering currently. Again, we know there is significant demand in the care sector for staff.”
On whether Government would remove the ability of overseas students to stay in Britain for a certain time after their degree has finished, he said: “I’m not aware of any plans to go that far. Obviously I think people would recognise that highly trained students with the skills the UK wants and needs are people we should welcome.”
Downing Street did not rule out a 20,000 limit on refugee resettlements, as the report recommends, but suggested any cap would be for Parliament to “make a judgment” on rather than for the Government to set “unilaterally”.
The New Conservatives say the proposed measures would reduce net migration by 400,000 and in doing so meet the 2019 manifesto pledge that “there will be fewer lower-skilled migrants and overall numbers will come down”.
Net migration was 606,000 last year, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.
In the report, MPs tell the Prime Minister that a promise to reduce immigration formed a key plank of Boris Johnson’s 2019 victory, which saw the Tories make sweeping gains in former Labour heartlands or so-called “red wall” seats.
The group says the current post-Brexit system has been “too lenient” and is not working, saying that “mass migration is having destabilising economic and cultural consequences”.
On the issue of visas for care workers, the report says: “Visa eligibility for both care workers and senior care workers were introduced as ‘temporary’ measures to address post-pandemic labour shortages.
“They were added to the Shortage Occupation List ‘in response to pandemic pressures’.
“Neither measure has yet been brought to a close, despite the abatement of the pandemic and its associated consequences.”
The group calls it “encouraging” that the Illegal Migration Bill, currently in the Lords, contains plans for an annual cap on refugees who come to the UK through safe and legal routes.
The report suggests that a “cap of 20,000 would offer a number that, excluding Hong Kongers and Ukrainians, exceeds the total number of people granted asylum or resettled in the UK in any given year since 2002.
Between 2014 and 2022, about 54,000 people were resettled or relocated to the UK under refugee schemes.
It is the latest sign of backbench pressure on the Prime Minister to curb immigration ahead of the next general election, expected before January 2025.
The Government earlier this year announced plans to prevent some overseas students bringing dependants to the UK.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has been outspoken about her desire to bring immigration numbers down, but other members of Mr Sunak’s Cabinet are believed to be more relaxed about the issue.
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