Responding to the announcement of Health and Care Visas, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery said:

"Trusts will welcome the announcement of a Health and Care Visa within the new immigration system from January next year, but the lack of support for the social care workforce is concerning.

"We are pleased to see that the government has recognised the value of migrant NHS staff who, alongside some other workers in the wider health and care sector, have been granted an exemption from the Immigration Health Surcharge.

"This exemption is complemented by a reduced visa fee which will help to ease the costs of international recruitment. This is an important change given the immigration skills charge will soon have to be paid for all EU and non-EU staff, and given the clear need for the NHS to rely on international recruitment in the short-term to reduce vacancies and meet the government’s target of recruiting 50,000 new nurses.

"While conditions for recruiting international staff to the NHS have improved, we continue to be frustrated by the lack of support for our partners in the care sector. The new points-based system is likely to exacerbate the workforce crisis in social care, with the temporary visa route removed and the vast majority of social care professionals, still implied to be ‘low skilled’, and therefore ineligible to apply for a Tier 2 visa.  

"The NHS is directly and adversely impacted by the crisis in social care. We join the Cavendish Coalition’s call for the government to act and find a transitional solution supporting migrant staff into the sector, prior to the introduction of a longer term plan and funding settlement for social care in England."