All House of Lords peers have criticised the Home Office for failing to take into account the impact of removing 180 occupations from Skilled Worker Visas and closing the Health and Care Worker route to overseas workers.
The Lords of the Secondary legislation Scrutiny committee have stated that the changes in immigration rules which took effect on 22nd July are likely to have “significant economic impacts” that were not properly assessed.
In their report, they claimed that Seema Malhotra, the immigration minister, had not provided enough information about the most recent changes. They stated that it was both “inexplicable and inexcusable”, that “useful” information was not included in Explanatory Notes.
Lords: This lack of information suggests that the statements were drafted before the impact was fully understood and analysed. The result could be that the results are different than what the department expected. The lords said that the lack of consultation exacerbated this risk.
They said: “This is not the best way to formulate policy. We have expressed this concern in recent times with the Home Office.”
The comments of the lords are similar to those made by immigration experts. Zeena Luchowa, a partner with immigration law firm Laura Devine Immigration said earlier this month that the speed at which the white paper was implemented was alarming.
She said that it was alarming to apply so quickly some of the proposals in the whitepaper without adequate consultation with the stakeholders or consideration of their impact on the essential sectors.
The changes effectively ended overseas recruitment for social care roles and care workers.
The UK economy will be affected by these changes in a big way” – Dr Dora Olivia Vicol, Work Rights Centre
The required skill threshold for sponsorship of people on the Skilled Worker Visa was also raised to RQF Level 6, which means that all new applicants are now required to have a graduate-level degree. Minimum salary thresholds were also increased. The list has been reduced by 180 occupations such as driving instructors and chefs.
As a temporary replacement for the Immigration Salary List currently in place, a Temporary Shortage List has been introduced to allow employers to sponsor foreign workers for certain roles that are below this higher threshold.
The government may review these occupations at any time, causing workers to worry that they could be in a “cliff edge” situation if their settlement extension application is unexpectedly denied. The scrutiny committee acknowledged that there are still many unanswered questions regarding the Temporary Shortage List.
Lords’ report: “We do not believe that these indirect effects are insignificant. The greatest impact will likely be felt by the care sector where changes are in conflict with other pressures, such as the need for adequate staffing or the high number of reported vacancies. These changes could be particularly controversial.”
The Work Rights Centre submitted a report to the Watchdog in response to a request for evidence.
The founder of the Work Rights Centre, Dr Dora-Oliva Vicol, said: “These change will have far-reaching impacts on the UK’s economy, the quality of care that our elderly people get, and on the lives of migrants workers and their family members, who worry about their futures in the UK. It is irresponsible to rush them through without proper consideration.
She continued: “This report reinforces our concerns that the government does not have a plan to protect migrant workers. The sudden closure of Health and Care workers will not make a difference to the tens and thousands of migrants who came in good faith to the UK and were exploited. The workers are still in the UK, despite this flawed visa system that ties them up to their employer. They need to be able to transfer their skills to a company that values them.
The Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee’s role is to assess the merits of statutory acts and other secondary legislation types that are subjected to parliamentary procedures.
Personnel Today contacted the Home Office to get its response to Lords report.
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