Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential for exploitation of migrant care worker visas being tied to individual employers; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of visa sponsorship being done via an independent body.

The Government condemns the exploitation of international care workers by rogue employers in the adult social care sector and continues to take robust action against this unscrupulous behaviour.

We have recently implemented a prohibition on Skilled Worker sponsors recouping sponsorship costs from those they sponsor, and those doing so now risk losing their licence. We also intend to ban any employer who flouts employment laws from acting as a sponsor in the future.

However, employer sponsorship is a core element of the UK’s economic immigration system and ensures those who most directly benefit from attracting workers to the UK play a vital role in maintaining the integrity of the system.