Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 22
22
Deferred
Paragraph: 98
We welcome the Government’s commitment to “making every decision about care is a decision about...
Conclusion
We welcome the Government’s commitment to “making every decision about care is a decision about housing”, but we are concerned that currently the Government is not putting this into practice. The detail on the housing policies in the People at the Heart of Care White Paper and how their funding will work have not been shared. We welcome the creation within DLUHC of a taskforce for housing for older people, but it is not clear what the read across will be to policies in the People at the Heart of Care White Paper. We are also concerned by an apparent lack of joined-up working both between DHSC and DLUHC—and within DLUHC—on housing, planning, and social care. This is not intended as a criticism of Ministers, but of the siloed working that this suggests both within DLUHC and across DHSC and DLUHC.
Government Response Summary
The government has noted the Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) recommendation that care workers’ inclusion on the shortage occupation list should not automatically expire after 12 months and commissioned the MAC to review the SOL.
Paragraph Reference:
98
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
In February 2022, we added care workers to the Health and Care Visa and the Shortage Occupation List (SOL), enabling these roles to be recruited from overseas and helping to fill thousands of eligible vacancies. The government has noted the Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) recommendation that care workers’ inclusion on the shortage occupation list should not automatically expire after 12 months. In September 2022, we commissioned the MAC to review the SOL and we do not intend to make any changes to the provisions for care workers before receiving the results of this review. We are pleased that adult social care employers are taking up the opportunity to recruit internationally and benefit from this new recruitment route. We are working with the sector to support employers to navigate international recruitment processes and ensure ethical recruitment and employment practices. Our Next Steps to Put People at the Heart of Care plan confirmed we are investing £15 million to help local areas establish support arrangements for international recruitment in adult social care. This international recruitment fund will promote close collaborative partnerships between local authorities, care alliances and ASC providers, and, where appropriate, with the NHS. The partnerships will create practical forms of support to providers to reduce complexity and cost, help ensure ethical practice and promote positive experiences for international recruits. The latest data published by the Home Office shows there were 56,900 visa grants for care workers and senior care workers in 2022. We continue to monitor how adult social care employers are using this immigration route, and how we can further support them. There are minimum salary thresholds to qualify for a Visa under the Skilled Worker route. This is normally £25,600. The Shortage Occupation List provides a reduced minimum salary threshold of £20,480. The thresholds will increase subject to Parliamentary approval on 12 April in line with the latest ONS salary data, to £26,200 and £20,960 respectively. We have no plans to lower the salary threshold. Our work on international recruitment complements efforts to improve recruitment and retention in the domestic labour market, including through a new domestic recruitment campaign. Government response 31 Unpaid Carers Conclusion 29 and 30 – respite care Conclusion 29 - Our broken care system is held up by unpaid carers doing vital work out of love and pride. The cost to them can be financial, physical, and emotional. The cost to our economy of carers leaving the workforce is over £3 billion each year—money that could be invested in adult social care. We recognise that some of the proposals in the White Paper will benefit carers, such as around technology and innovation. However, we think that £25 million over three years is a totally inadequate amount to allocate to initiatives to support carers, whose contribution to the UK economy is estimated by Carers UK at £132 billion a year. £25 million will do little to assure carers that their contribution is valued by the Government. Conclusion 30 - The Government claims “the money is there” to support carers’ breaks, but the evidence we received is that not enough carers are getting a break. There are many carers who have not had a break since the start of the pandemic. Providing intimate care, under pressure, for such a prolonged period, is bound to have an impact on a person’s mental and physical health.