A new set of immigration policies were announced on Monday by James Cleverly, the latest Home Secretary. Island Labour say his new policy “slams the door in the face of people we need to come here to help care for our older and vulnerable loved ones”.
Although 120,000 care visas were issue by the Home Office last year, the Health Foundation say we still have a shortage of 150,000 workers in the social care sector.
This is having a huge impact on Islanders and the council’s budget, as it is forced to use expensive agency labour to fill the gaps.
Quigley: Wards full with people that cannot be discharged
Councillor Richard Quigley, Labour councillor for Cowes North, said,
“We are all too aware of the frequency with which our hospital declares a critical emergency, turning away new patients and delaying planned treatments as the wards are full with people that cannot be discharged due to a lack of suitable care provision at home.
“This has contributed to nearly one in ten working aged Islanders being economically inactive due to long term sickness.”
Quigley: It’s just pie in the sky
A YouGov polling suggests 10.6 million people in the UK are now acting as unpaid carers, up from five million in 2021 and one million people are in receipt of carers allowance (an increase of 4.5 per cent over two years).
Councillor Quigley went on to add,
“This Conservative government has put forward these policies to save its own skin, with no consideration of the impact to communities like ours.
“The idea that ‘more Brits’ will fill the roles is just pie in the sky as they are cutting council budgets to the point services are at breaking point and care homes are closing, over 5,000 closed last year in England alone.”
Island Labour say they fully appreciates our carers, and that the last Labour government ensured carers got the respect they deserve by professionalising their qualifications.
They add that next Labour government will address staffing shortages by ensuring carers get properly rewarded for what is an essential and demanding job.
