Asked by: Baroness Keeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department is taking steps to help support the visa applications of (a) artists and (b) other professionals for the WOMEX international music convention in October 2024.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Officials from UK Visas and Immigration have already engaged with the organisers of the WOMEX International Music Convention (2024) in August this year. UKVI officials will continue to work with the organisers to support the visa application process for artists and other professionals.
Asked by: Baroness Keeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2021 to Question 53853, on Social Services: Vacancies, if she will add all social care workers to the shortage occupation list alongside senior care workers in response to workforce shortages across the care sector.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Senior care workers were added to the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) in April 2021, joining other key health and care occupations such as nurses, occupational therapists and social workers. Yet we do not believe it would be appropriate to create an immigration route which gives social care employers an opportunity to recruit at or near the minimum wage, with no work based training requirements, as an alternative to offering the type of rewarding packages which will attract UK based workers.
In July, I commissioned the MAC to review the impact of ending free movement on the social care sector. The MAC have issued a call for evidence with stakeholders and we look forward to receiving their report in April 2022
Asked by: Baroness Keeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will add social care workers to the shortage occupation list in response to workforce shortages across the care sector.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Several occupations within the social care sector are currently on the shortage occupation list including senior care workers.
The introduction of the Health and Care visa in August 2020 made it quicker and easier for regulated health and care professionals – including Senior Care Workers - and their dependants to secure their visa.
We have commissioned the MAC to look further at the issues surrounding the ending of free movement on the social care sector and we look forward to receiving their report next year.
Beyond the Points Based System, there is the existing resident labour market, which includes those who come to the UK through our Youth Mobility Schemes (which we are looking to expand), our new British National (Overseas) visa for those from Hong Kong, dependants of those arriving under the expanded skilled worker route, as well as over 6 million applications under the EU Settlement Scheme and those who arrive through family routes, who all have full access to the UK labour market.
Our Plan for Jobs is helping people across the country retrain, build new skills and get back into work. The Government encourages all sectors to make employment more attractive to UK domestic workers through offering training, careers options, and improve terms and conditions, including ensuring care workers are offered the rewarding packages they deserve and which are common in other sectors, rather than turning to immigration policy for an alternative to doing so.