Andy Burnham is considering exempting hundreds of thousands of existing care workers from the home secretary's planned crackdown on immigration, as part of efforts to ease pressure on the social care sector. The prime minister is weighing up whether to waive stricter right-to-remain rules for people already working in the industry, according to sources briefed on the plans.
Burnham is expected to set out his vision for a National Care Service in a speech next week, drawing on his personal experience of the care system through his father, Roy, who has Alzheimer's. He will also bring forward Louise Casey's review into the sector, originally due to conclude in 2028. The immigration measures are not likely to feature in the speech but could be announced later in the year after a public consultation.
One person briefed on the plans said: "Andy is determined to do something about the social care system, and quickly. This is highly personal for him, and he will talk about why he wants to push some of it through before the election, even if that comes at a political price." Burnham told broadcasters: "I think it's about being prepared to grasp the nettle. I've got personal experience of the system. My dad has Alzheimer's, and you see what the staff have to put up with. It's not their fault. The system's broken."
Under the proposed changes, Shabana Mahmood plans to double the time it takes migrant workers to qualify for indefinite leave to remain, a move that could disproportionately affect care staff. The Home Office has granted about 200,000 health and care worker visas in the last five years, with many more arriving as dependants. Burnham is understood to favour exempting those already in the country while applying the new rules to future entrants.
Unison general secretary Andrea Egan said: "Vulnerable people and those with complex needs won't get the help they deserve unless ministers focus on recruitment and retention. That means dropping plans to push migrant care workers out of the UK." Short-term fixes for the sector could include increasing the £9bn Better Care Fund to provide free short-term care for patients after hospital discharge, while longer-term funding options, including potential tax rises, will be considered as part of Lady Casey's review.
