Indefinite Leave to Remain

Lee Pitcher Excerpts

Monday 2nd February 2026 Westminster Hall

[Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) (Lab)]

Let me start by saying something I suspect most Members across the House will agree on: our immigration system requires reforming. It needs to be fair and clear and it needs to command public confidence. That includes securing borders, proper enforcement and rules that people can understand, but we have to be honest about what today’s debate is about; it is about people who came here through legal processes that Parliament set.

These people have made life-changing decisions based on the rules as they stood at the time. They came here to work and are working, doing jobs our communities rely on every single day. They are contributing—paying taxes and raising families—and their contributions really matter.

I want to focus particularly on care workers. The care sector is under immense pressure. Many of the people affected by the change are doing demanding, often lower paid, but essential work: caring for our parents, grandparents and some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Removing certainty from that workforce risks deepening existing shortages and undermining continuity of care.

This debate has been prompted by petitions, including one started by a constituent of mine. It is, in part, because of him that this debate is happening, and I thank him for that. Laurence Bansil is a care manager with 15 years’ experience across health and social care. He came to the UK from the Philippines, with a nursing background, and later became a British citizen through the five-year route to indefinite leave to remain.

He has spoken of his deep gratitude for the opportunities that this country has given him to build a great life, to lead in care and to support vulnerable people. He is also crystal clear about what is at stake in terms of the workforce. Speaking about care workers on health and care worker visas, Laurence says,

“This is not simply an immigration issue.”

In his words, it is

“one of stability, dignity, and the ability to continue caring for people who rely on them every day”.

He told me that the workforce “remains fragile,” and he is clear about the risk of extending settlement timelines:

“losing experienced staff…disrupting continuity of care”,

and

“ultimately harming the vulnerable people the system exists to protect.”

Laurence is here today with the Hesley Group, alongside its chief executive officer Virginia Perkins. He says it is time to

“cement stability in social care”,

and urges the Government to

“ensure full impact assessments are completed”.

There is, though, a wider point here about fairness and trust in Government. My ask for the Minister today is modest and straightforward. It is about clarity and reassurance, so for the sake of those affected I ask the Minister to provide clear guidance for people with an open application pending in the very near future. People who are waiting to be told imminently about their right to remain should not be left in limbo, unsure whether they will be swept into a new regime partway through a process that they entered into in good faith.