https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c626dyd8y8wo
Care workers will no longer be recruited from overseas as part of a crackdown on visas for lower-skilled workers, the home secretary has told the BBC.
Yvette Cooper said it is "time to end that care worker recruitment from abroad" and rules will change this year - instead requiring firms to hire British nationals or extend visas of overseas workers already in the country.
The government plans to unveil changes to visa and recruitment laws on Monday in a bid to cut net migration, and says measures will cut up to 50,000 lower-skilled and care workers coming to the UK over the next year.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the plans were "too little" and called for an annual cap on migration. Successive governments have tried unsuccessfully to reduce net migration, which is the number of people coming to the UK minus the number leaving.
Net migration climbed to a record 906,000 in June 2023, and last year it stood at 728,000.
The Home Office has not yet officially confirmed what will be in its immigration White Paper, due early next week.
Speaking on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Cooper said the government "was setting up plans for a substantial reduction in net migration" but added targets would not be set, saying "they undermined the credibility of anything that governments do".
The threshold for skilled visas is expected to be increased to graduate level, tightened from the current A-level measure.
There will also be a "narrower" list of exceptions to the rules for temporary shortage visas in some industries, Cooper said, but did not give examples.
Currently, roles considered to be in short supply in the UK like carpenters, graphic designers and pharmaceutical technicians can be placed on the Immigration Salary List (ISL),, external allowing employers to hire overseas workers at discount - set at 80% of the market rate.
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"content": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c626dyd8y8wo\n\nCare workers will no longer be recruited from overseas as part of a crackdown on visas for lower-skilled workers, the home secretary has told the BBC.\n\nYvette Cooper said it is \"time to end that care worker recruitment from abroad\" and rules will change this year - instead requiring firms to hire British nationals or extend visas of overseas workers already in the country.\n\nThe government plans to unveil changes to visa and recruitment laws on Monday in a bid to cut net migration, and says measures will cut up to 50,000 lower-skilled and care workers coming to the UK over the next year.\n\nShadow home secretary Chris Philp said the plans were \"too little\" and called for an annual cap on migration. Successive governments have tried unsuccessfully to reduce net migration, which is the number of people coming to the UK minus the number leaving.\n\nNet migration climbed to a record 906,000 in June 2023, and last year it stood at 728,000.\n\nThe Home Office has not yet officially confirmed what will be in its immigration White Paper, due early next week.\n\nSpeaking on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Cooper said the government \"was setting up plans for a substantial reduction in net migration\" but added targets would not be set, saying \"they undermined the credibility of anything that governments do\".\n\nThe threshold for skilled visas is expected to be increased to graduate level, tightened from the current A-level measure.\n\nThere will also be a \"narrower\" list of exceptions to the rules for temporary shortage visas in some industries, Cooper said, but did not give examples.\n\nCurrently, roles considered to be in short supply in the UK like carpenters, graphic designers and pharmaceutical technicians can be placed on the Immigration Salary List (ISL),, external allowing employers to hire overseas workers at discount - set at 80% of the market rate.",
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