• The migration advisory committee (MAC) responds to the the home secretary's commission into a points-based system and salary thresholds for immigration.
• It recommends the protection of international recruitment of healthcare staff through the alignment of salary thresholds to national NHS pay scales.
• However, there are no practical proposals to ensure ongoing and increased recruitment of migrant workers into social care.
  
  

In response to the recommendations from the migration advisory committee (MAC), NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson said:

“Health and care services are facing severe and unsustainable workforce shortages at a time of rapidly increasing demand. Both the NHS and the social care sector need a future immigration system which will protect their ability to recruit staff from overseas.

“With over 105,000 vacancies in the trust sector alone, we know it will be several years before domestic supply increases enough to help close the workforce gap. Over the next five years and beyond the NHS will need to increase overseas recruitment if it is to meet demand and the government’s pledge of adding 50,000 nurses to the workforce.

“While we are pleased to see the Migration Advisory Committee recommend that recruitment into NHS roles is protected by aligning salary requirements with national NHS pay scales, we see mixed messages in other vital areas.

We are disappointed that there are no proposals to ensure we can recruit the staff we need to ensure sustainable social care services.

“It is positive that the £30k salary threshold proposal has been pulled back in these recommendations. But we are disappointed that there are no proposals to ensure we can recruit the staff we need to ensure sustainable social care services.

“The government must take concerns about the viability of the social care sector seriously. NHS services and ultimately patient care will suffer without a sustainable social care system supported by a proper long-term financial settlement and a migration system which provides access to talented and committed staff.”