Care providers say the government is depriving the “lifeline” of overseas recruitment without addressing the problems that make it difficult for UK employees.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced on Monday that he would overhaul immigration, including ending plans to recruit nursing staff from overseas.

Even if staff were introduced from other countries, official estimates showed that there were 131,000 social care vacancies in England last year.

Nursing companies say some services will survive without international recruits.

“The industry has been building on reduced resources, rising costs and increasing vacancies,” said Professor Martin Green of Care England, England, who described himself as the largest representative body for independent care providers.

"There is no warning now, no funds, no other options, not only short-sighted - it's cruel and so taken away (international recruitment).

Sir Kyle said visa changes were part of the driving force for “significantly reducing immigration” and that the government hoped to create a “controlled, selective and equitable migration system”.

The government said care providers can extend visas for existing employees who have already found jobs in the UK and recruit immigrants. It also promises a new fair pay deal for caregivers and hopes the company will recruit and train more people from the UK.

But, Dr. Jane Townson of the Home Care Association said the government is introducing changes “in a vacuum” because fair pay agreements still have a long way to go and “no plans to deliver care workers in our country’s needs.”

Social care has been in a state of crisis for many years, with the council’s service fund being compressed, a large number of staff shortened, and the growing demand for an aging population. Reform plans have been delayed again and again.

During the pandemic, caregivers applauded with health workers, but this did not translate into compensation or improvements in conditions.

According to the nursing skills of the official institutions that monitor the workforce, about 1.7 million people are engaged in social care in England. It is usually a minimum or above minimum wage job, and there is little recognition of the growing responsibilities and complexity that support staff provides for older and disabled persons.

To be honest, if someone can earn more work, for example, earn less, harder time in the supermarket, that's the choice many will choose.

After the hybridization, some staff left the nursing job because they felt burned down, while others who still love the job thought they could not afford the increase in the cost of living.

Between April 2021 and March 2022, social care vacancies reached a record 165,000, an increase of 52% from the previous year.

By December 2021, warnings of impending collapse prompted Boris Johnson's Conservative government to make nursing a shortage career, making it easier for companies to find employees overseas.

Recruiters must earn at least £20,480 a year to qualify for visas and they can take their families.

Overseas recruitment grows rapidly - 80,000 people arrived in the UK to work in nursing in 2022/23, and on 23/24, there are 105,000 visas.

Many nursing companies say providing these employees is the difference between providing services and crashing. However, this new route also abuses the new route to the UK. For example, some people are exploited and end up paying thousands of travel and sponsorship certificates to the middlemen.

The Ministry of Home Affairs said 470 nursing companies already have permissions for international staff that have been revoked since 2022. This is estimated to have displaced approximately 40,000 employees. Many companies have found alternative nursing jobs, the company said.

In March 2024, Rishi Sunak's Conservative government tightened visa requirements. This includes saying that recruits can no longer take their families. This has resulted in a significant drop in the number of caregivers arriving from abroad.

According to the government, people entering the UK are granted “personal care services” for the year ended December 2024.

But relatively small changes have changed in the four years since the shortage of staff are the worst to encourage more British people to work in nursing. There has been a government-funded recruitment campaign and talk about the need to increase employees’ salaries and status, but many workers are worried that the solution is still a long way.

The independent Casey Council began working last month to develop an adult social care plan. Ministers described it as “a generational opportunity that once was beyond party politics and build consensus on the future of the industry”. Its first update will be final reports next year and 2028.

Social care is more important than ever when the NHS is struggling, as it can keep vulnerable people away from hospitals and support patients when they return home.

Many caregivers would say it is an incredibly beneficial job, and with the closure of overseas recruitment, the question is what to change to encourage more British people to take on this role?