18.12.15
‘Counterproductive’ migration cap could ‘cripple NHS over winter’
The government’s migration cap could have been responsible for a crisis in nurse recruitment, “effectively crippling the NHS over winter”, the Home Affairs Select Committee has found.
In an investigation into Whitehall’s Tier 2 cap, designed to reduce net migration and stimulate domestic training and recruitment, the Committee said the move had been counterproductive: to successfully train more nurses domestically would require the government to increase the number of training places available, which was not done.
As well as failing to bring down migration, Tier 2 visas only account for a “relatively small” number of migrants – 20,700 against the 336,000 net migration figure – making it “minimal in comparison”.
“Yet it blocks the recruitment of vitally needed skills required by individual employers and the economy as a whole. When the monthly allocation is used up, employers are left with a stark choice between a nurse or an engineer,” Keith Vaz MP, committee chair, said.
“When the cap was reached earlier this year, we saw the perverse effects of the system, as the cap prioritises higher paid jobs. In June, nurses were being prevented from working in the UK, which necessitated the government taking emergency measures to allow recruitment to continue. Whilst this was a very welcome move, it is clear to see that the system could have caused a crisis in the NHS this winter.
“A system which encourages panicked adjustments to be function is not fit for purpose. Nurses should remain on the shortage occupation list.”
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) embraced the fact that the committee recognised the “ongoing nursing shortage and the fact that this shortage is not a short-term issue”, adding: “Since the RCN first raised this issue and lobbied for a change to the immigration rules, a consensus has formed across the health service that cutting the supply of overseas nurses risks patient care.
“The health service must now have a long-term workforce strategy to ensure the UK has enough nurses to cope with rising demand now and in the future. Anything less would be failing patients.”
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt decided to temporarily lift restrictions on recruiting overseas nurses in October in order to aid existing shortages – particularly amid grave concerns that existing laws would open up a hole in the profession.
He added nurses to the shortage occupation list, meaning non-EU nurses have their applications prioritised.
Though home secretary Theresa May wrote to the Migration Advisory Committee requesting that nurses be permanently placed on the list, the committee is only due to report back by 15 February of next year.